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CHARLES WILLIAM WASON
COLLECTION

CHINA AND THE CHINESE

THE GIFT OF

CHARLES WILLIAM WASON

CLASS OF 1876

1918

Cornell University Library
PR 6037.M68T7

The transmutation of Ling /

3 1924 023 400 025 *....

The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023400025

THE WALLET OF KAl LUNG

THE

TRANSMUTATION

OF LING

^Ay

%^

Only five hundred copies of this edition have
been printed for sale in England and
America and the type has been distributed.

The ill-omened, but, as it will be finally revealed,
benevolently-arranged meeting of Kai Lung and
the brigand.

THE

TRANSMUTATION
OF LING

BY

ERNEST BRAMAH

WITH TWELVE DESIGNS BY

ILBERY LYNCH

LONDON

GRANT RICHARDS LTD.

PUBLISHERS

^ r, UKlVs i I I

V\/3

l^t

PRINTED BY THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LTD.

BEAVERHALI. ROAD, EDINBURGH

I9II

LIST OF BLATES

THE ILL-OMENED, BUT, AS IT WILL BE FINALLY REVEALED,
BENEVOLENTLY-ARRANGED MEETING OF KAI LUNG AND

THE BRIGAND ..... Frontispiece

THE MANDARIN OF THE THREE TIMES BOLTED DOOR . . To face page 1 6

THE UNPREPOSSESSING CONDUCT OF THE CHIEF OF BOWMEN . „ „ 30

A POWERFUL AND ILL-DISPOSED MAGICIAN . . • 55 35 40

THE LOTUS-HUNG MEETING-PLACE OF THE TWO WITH WHOM THE

PRINTED LEAVES ARE CHIEFLY CONCERNED . . „ „ 44

THE SIGNIFICANT BEHAVIOUR OF THE ONE WHO IS BLIND AND

THE OTHER DEAF . . . . . „ „ 46

MIAN's OPPORTUNE GIFT BY WHICH CIRCUMSTANCES ARE

TURNED INTO A DIVERGING COURSE . . . „ „ 50

THE TOILET OF MIAN *. . . . . • jj 55 5^

THE SUPERFLUOUS WANG . . . . • 55 55 62

THE OUTRAGEOUS ATTITUDE OF THE DISHONOURABLE LI KEEN 55 „ 7 2

THE LEAVE-TAKING FROM THOSE WHO HAVE FOLLOWED (aS
IT MAY BE expressed) THE INVOLVEMENTS OF LING
AND MIAN . . . . . • 3> 5J 76

THE OUT-PASSING FROM THE NARRATIVE OF THE AMIABLE

KAI LUNG . . . . . • jj jj 78

CHAPTER I

THE sun had dipped behind the western mountains before
Kai Lung, with twenty li or more still between him and the
city of Knei Yang, entered the camphor-laurel forest which
stretched almost to his destination. No person of consequence
ever made the journey unattended ; but Kai Lung professed to have no
fear, remarking with extempore wisdom, when warned at the previous
village, that a worthless garment covered one with better protection than
that afforded by an army of bowmen. Nevertheless, when within the
gloomy aisles, Kai Lung more than once wished himself back at the
village, or safely behind the mud walls of Knei Yang ; and, making
many vows concerning the amount of prayer-paper which he would
assuredly burn when he was actually through the gates, he stepped
out more quickly, until suddenly, at a turn in the glade, he stopped
altogether, while the watchful expression into which he had unguardedly
dropped at once changed into a mask of impassiveness and extreme
unconcern. From behind the next tree projected a long straight rod, not
unlike a slender bamboo at the distance, but, to Kai Lung's all-seeing eye,
in reality the barrel of a matchlock, which would come into line with his
breast if he took another step. Being a prudent man, more accustomed
to guile and subservience to destiny than to force, he therefore waited,
spreading out his hands in proof of his peaceful acquiescence, arid smiling
cheerfully until it should please the owner of the weapon to step forth.
This the unseen did a moment later, still keeping his gun in an easy and
convenient attitude, revealing a stout body and a scarred face, which in
conjunction made it plain to Kai Lung that he was in the power of Lin Yi,
a noted brigand of whom he had heard much in the villages.

" O illustrious person," said Kai Lung very earnestly, " this is evidently
an unfortunate mistake. Doubtless you were expecting some exalted
Mandarin to come and render you homage, and were preparing to over-
whelm him with gratified confusion by escorting him yourself to your
well-appointed abode. Indeed, I passed such a one on the road, very richly
apparelled, who inquired of me the way to the mansion of the dignified
and upright Lin Yi. By this time he is perhaps two or three li towards
the east."

" However distinguished a Mandarin he may be, it is fitting that I

9

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

should first attend to one whose manners and accomplishments betray him
to be of the Royal House," replied Lin Yi, with extreme afFability.
" Precede me, therefore, to my mean and uninviting hovel, while I gain
more honour than I can reasonably bear by following closely in your
elegant footsteps, and guarding your Imperial person with this inadequate
but heavily-loaded weapon."

Seeing no chance of immediate escape, Kai Lung led the way, in-
structed by the brigand, along a very difficult and bewildering path, until
they reached a cave hidden among the crags. Here Lin Yi called out some
words in the Miaotze tongue, whereupon a follower appeared, and opened
a gate in the stockade of prickly mimosa which guarded the mouth of the
den. Within the enclosure a fire burned, and food was being prepared. At
a word from the chief, the unfortunate Kai Lung found his hands seized
and tied behind his back, while a second later a rough hemp rope was
fixed round his neck, and the other end tied to an overhanging tree.

Lin Yi smiled pleasantly and critically upon these preparations, and
when they were complete dismissed his follower.

" Now we can converse at our ease and without restraint," he
remarked to Kai Lung. " It will be a distinguished privilege for a person
occupying the important public position which you undoubtedly do ; fdr
myself, my instincts are so degraded and low-minded that nothing gives
me more gratification than to dispense with ceremony."

To this Kai Lung made no reply, chiefly because at that moment the
wind swayed the tree, and compelled him to stand on his toes in order to
escape suffocation.

" It would be useless to try to conceal from a person of your inspired
intelligence that I am indeed Lin Yi," continued the robber. " It is a
dignified position to occupy, and one for which I am quite incompetent.
In the sixth month of the third year ago, it chanced that this unworthy
person, at that time engaged in commercial affairs at Knei Yang, became
inextricably immersed in the insidious delights of quail-fighting. Having
been entrusted with a large number of taels with which to purchase
elephants' teeth, it suddenly occurred to him that if he doubled the
number of taels by staking them upon an exceedingly powerful and agile
quail, he would be able to purchase twice the number of teeth, and so
benefit his patron to a large extent. This matter was clearly forced upon
his notice by a dream, in which he perceived one whom he then under-
stood to be the benevolent spirit of an ancestor in the act of stroking a
particular quail, upon whose chances he accordingly placed all he
possessed. Doubtless evil spirits had been employed in the matter ; for, to
this person's great astonishmei^t, the quail in question failed in a very
discreditable manner at the encounter. Unfortunately, this person had
risked not only the money which had been entrusted to him, but all that
he had himself become possessed of by some years of honourable toil and
assiduous courtesy as a professional witness in law cases. Not doubting that

lO

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

his patron would see that he was himself greatly to blame in confiding so
large a sum of money to a comparatively young man of whom he knew
little, this person placed the matter before him, at the same time showing
him that he would suffer in the eyes of the virtuous if he did not restore
this person's savings, which but for the presence of the larger sum, and a
generous desire to benefit his patron, ^e would never have risked in so
uncertain a venture as that of quail-fighting. Although the facts were laid
in the form of a dignified request instead of a demand by leg^l means, and
the reasoning carefully drawn up in columns on fine parchment by a very
illustrious writer, the reply which this person received showed him plainly
that a wrong view had been taken of the matter, and that the time had
arrived when it became necessary for him to make a suitable rejoinder by
leaving the city without delay."

" It was a high-minded and disinterested course to take," said Kai
Lung with great conviction, as Lin Yi paused. " Without doubt evil will
shortly overtake the avaricious-souled person at Knei Yang."

" It has already done so," replied Lin Yi. " While passing through
this forest in the season of Many White Vapours, the spirits of his bad
deeds appeared to him in misleading and symmetrical shapes, and drew
him out of the path and away from his bowmen. After suffering many
torments, he found his way here, where, in spite of our continual care, he
perished miserably and in great bodily pain. . . . But I cannot conceal
from myself, in spite of your distinguished politeness, that I am becoming
intolerably tiresome with my commonplace talk."

*' On the contrary," replied Kai Lung, " while listening to your voice
I seemed to hear the beating of many gongs of the finest and most polished
brass. I floated in the Middle Air, and for the time I even became un-
conscious of the fact that this honourable appendage, though fashioned, as
I perceive, out of the most delicate silk, makes it exceedingly difficult for
me to breathe."

" Such a thing cannot be permitted," exclaimed Lin Yi, with some
indignation, as with his own hands he slackened the rope, and, taking it
from Kai Lung's neck, fastened it round his ankle. " Now, in return for
my uninviting confidences, shall not my senses be gladdened by a recital of
the titles and honours borne by your distinguished family .? Doubtless, at
this moment many Mandarins of the highest degree are anxiously awaiting
your arrival at Knei Yang, perhaps passing the time by outdoing one
another in protesting the number of taels each would give rather than
permit you to be tormented by fire-brands, or even to lose a single
ear."

" Alas ! " replied Kai Lung, " never was there a truer proverb than
that which says, 'It is a mark of insincerity of purpose to spend one's
time in looking for the sacred Emperor in the low-class tea-shops.' Do
Mandarins or the friends of Mandarins travel in mean garments and
unattended ? Indeed, the person who is now before you is none other

II

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

than the outcast Kai Lung, the story-teller, one of degraded habits and no
very distinguished or reputable ancestors. His friends are few, and mostly
of the criminal class ; his wealth is not more than some six or eight cash,
concealed in his left sandal ; and his entire stock-in-trade consists of a few
unendurable and badly-told stories, to which, however, it is his pre-
sumptuous intention shortly to add a dignified narrative of the high-born
Lin Yi, setting out his domestic virtues and the honour which he has
reflected upon his house, his valour in war, the destruction of his enemies,
and, above all, his great benevolence and the protection which he extends
to the poor and those engaged in the distinguished arts."

"The absence of friends is unfortunate," said Lin Yi thoughtfully,
after he had possessed himself of the coins indicated by Kai Lung, and
also of a much larger amount concealed elsewhere among the story-teller's
clothing. " My followers are mostly outlawed Miaotze, who have been
driven from their own tribes in Yun Nan for man-eating and disregarding
the sacred laws of hospitality. They are somewhat rapacious, and in this
way it has become a custom that they should have as their own, for the
purpose of exchanging for money, persons such as yourself, whose insatiable
curiosity has led them to this place."

" The wise and all-knowing Emperor Fohy instituted three degrees of
attainment : Being poor, to obtain justice ; being rich, to escape flattery ;
and being human, to avoid the passions," replied Kai Lung. " To these
the practical and enlightened King added yet another, the greatest : Being
lean, to yield fatness."

" In such cases," observed the brigand, " the Miaotze keep an
honoured and very venerable rite, which chiefly consists in suspending
the offender by the pigtail from a low tree, and placing burning twigs of
hemp-palm between his toes. To this person it seems a foolish and
meaningless habit ; but it would not be well to interfere with their
religious observances, however trivial they may appear."

" Such a course must inevitably end in great loss," suggested Kai
Lung ; " for undoubtedly there are many poor yet honourable persons who
would leave with them a bond for a large number of taels and save the
money with which to redeem it, rather than take part in a ceremony
which is not according to one's own Book of Rites."

" They have already suffered in that way on one or two occasions,"
replied Lin Yi ; " so that such a proposal, no matter how nobly intended,
would not gladden their faces. Yet they are simple and docile persons,
and would, without doubt, be moved to any feeling you should desire by
the recital of one of your illustrious stories."

" An intelligent and discriminating assemblage is more to a story-teller
than much reward of cash from hands that conceal open mouths," replied
Kai Lung with great feeling. " Nothing would confer more pleasurable
agitation upon this unworthy person than an opportunity of narrating his
entire stock to them. If also the accomplished Lin Yi would bestow

12

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

renown upon the occasion by his presence, no omen of good would be
wanting."

" The pleasures of the city lie far behind me," said Lin Yi, after some
thought, " and I would cheerfully submit myself to an intellectual accom-
plishment such as you are undoubtedly capable of. But as we have
necessity to leave this spot before ihf hour when the oak-leaves change
into night-moths, one of your amiable stories will be the utmost we can
strengthen our intellects with. Select which you will. In the meantime,
food will be brought to refresh you after your benevolent exertions in con-
versing with a person of my vapid understanding. When you have
partaken, or thrown it away as utterly unendurable, the time will have
arrived, and this person, together with all his accomplices, will put them-
selves in a position to be subjected to all the most dignified emotions."

13

CHAPTER II

" h m HHE story which I have selected for this gratifying occasion,"
I said Kai Lung, when, an hour or so later, still pinioned,
I but released from the halter, he sat surrounded by the
™ brigands, " is entitled ' Good and Evil,' and it is concerned
with the adventures of one Ling, who bore the honourable name of
Ho. The first, and indeed the greater, part of the narrative, as related
by the venerable and accomplished writer of history Chow-Tan, is taken
up by showing how Ling was assuredly descended from an enlightened
Emperor of the race of Tsin ; but as the no less omniscient Ta-lin-hi
proves beyond doubt that the person in question was in no way connected
with any but a line of hereditary ape-worshippers, who entered China
from an unknown country many centuries ago, it would ill become this
illiterate person to express an opinion on either side, and he will in con-
sequence omit the first seventeen books of the story, and only deal with
the three which refer to the illustrious Ling himself,"

THE STORY OF LING

Narrated by Kai Lung when a prisoner in the camp of Lin Ti

LING was the youngest of three sons, and from his youth upwards
proved to be of a mild and studious disposition. Most of his time was
spent in reading the sacred books, and at an early age he found the worship
of apes to be repulsive to his gentle nature, and resolved to break through
the venerable traditions of his family by devoting his time to literary pur-
suits, and presenting himself for the public examinations at Canton. In
this his resolution was strengthened by a rumour that an army of bowmen
was shortly to be raised from the Province in which he lived, so that if
he remained he would inevitably be forced into an occupation which was
even more distasteful to him than the one he was leaving.

Having arrived at Canton, Ling's first care was to obtain particulars of
the examinations, which he clearly perceived, from the unusual activity dis-

14

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

played on all sides, to be near at hand. On inquiring from passers-by* he
received very conflicting information ; for the persons to whom he spoke
were themselves entered for the competition, and therefore naturally misled
him in order to increase their own chances of success. Perceiving this,
Ling determined to apply at once, although the light was past, to a
Mandarin who was concerned in the eliminations, lest by delay he should
lose his chance for the year.

" It is an unfortunate event that so distinguished a person should have
selected this day and hour on which to overwhelm us with his affable
politeness ! " exclaimed the porter at the gate of the Yamen, when Ling
had explained his reason for going. " On such a day, in the reign of the
virtuous Emperor Hoo Chow, a very benevolent and unassuming ancestor
of my good lord the Mandarin was destroyed by treachery, and ever since
his family has observed the occasion by fasting and no music. This person
would certainly be punished with death if he entered the inner room from
any cause."

At these words. Ling, who had been simply brought up, and chiefly
in the society of apes, was going away with many expressions of self-
reproach at selecting such a time, when the gate-keeper called him
back.

" I am overwhelmed with confusion at the position in which I find
myself," he remarked, after he had examined his mind for a short time. " I
may meet with an ungraceful and objectionable death if I carry out your
estimable instructions, but I shall certainly merit and receive a similar fate
if I permit so renowned and versatile a person to leave without a fitting
reception. In such matters a person can only trust to the intervention of
good spirits ; if, therefore, you will permit this unworthy individual to
wear, while making the venture, the ring which he perceives upon your
finger, and which he recognises as a very powerful charm against evil,
misunderstandings, and extortion, he will go without fear."

Overjoyed at the amiable porter's efforts on his behalf. Ling did as he
was desired, and the other retired. Presently the door of the Yamen was
opened by an attendant of the house, and Ling bidden to enter. He was
covered with astonishment to find that this person was entirely unacquainted
with his name or purpose.

" Alas ! " said the attendant, when Ling had explained his object,
" well said the renowned and inspired Ting Fo, ' When struck by a
thunderbolt it is unnecessary to consult the Book of Dates as to the precise
meaning of the omen.' At this moment my noble-minded master is engaged
in conversation with all the most honourable and refined persons in Canton,
while singers and dancers of a very expert and nimble order have been sent
for. The entertainment will undoubtedly last far into the night, and to
present myself even with the excuse of your graceful and delicate inquiry
would certainly result in very objectionable consequences to this person."

" It is indeed a day of unprepossessing circumstances," replied Ling,

15

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

and, after many honourable remarks concerning his own intellect and
appearance, and those of the person to whom he was speaking, he had
turned to leave when the other continued :

" Ever since your dignified presence illumined this very ordinary
chamber, this person has been endeavouring to bring to his mind an
incident which occurred to him last night while he slept. Now it has
come back to him with a diamond clearness, and he is satisfied that it was
as follows : While he floated in the Middle Air a benevolent spirit, in the
form of an elderly and toothless vampire, appeared, leading by the hand a
young man of elegant personality. Smiling encouragingly upon this person,
the spirit said, ' O Fou, recipient of many favours from Mandarins and of
innumerable taels from gratified persons whom you have obliged, I am,
even at this moment, guiding this exceptional young man towards your
presence ; when he arrives do not hesitate, but do as he desires, no matter
how great the danger seems or how inadequately you may appear to be
rewarded on earth.' The vision then melted, but I now clearly perceive
that with the exception of the embroidered cloak which you wear, you
are the person thus indicated to me. Remove your cloak, therefore, in
order to give the amiable spirit no opportunity of denying the fact, and
I will advance your wishes ; for, as the Book of Verses indicates,
'The person who patiently awaits a sign from the clouds for many
years, and yet fails to notice the earthquake at his feet, is devoid of
intellect.' "

Convinced that he was assuredly under the especial protection of the
Deities, and that the end of his search was in view. Ling gave his rich
cloak to the attendant, and was immediately shown into another room,
where he was left alone.

After a considerable space of time the door opened and there entered
a person whom Ling at first supposed to be the Mandarin. Indeed, he was
addressing him by his titles when the other interrupted him. "Do not
distress your incomparable mind by searching for honourable names to
apply to so inferior a person as myself," he said agreeably. " The mistake
is, nevertheless, very natural ; for, however miraculous it may appear, this
unseemly individual, who is in reahty merely a writer of spoken words, is
admitted to be exceedingly like the dignified Mandarin himself, though
somewhat stouter, clad in better garments, and, it is said, less obtuse of
intellect. This last matter he very much doubts, for he now finds himself
unable to recognise by name one who is undoubtedly entitled to wear the
Royal Yellow." ^

With this encouragement Ling once more explained his position,
narrating the events which had enabled him to reach the second chamber
of the Yamen. When he had finished the secretary was overpowered with
a high-minded indignation.

"Assuredly those depraved and rapacious persons who have both
misled and robbed you shall sufl^er bowstringing when the whole matter is

1 6

The mandarin of the three times bolted door.

■T^TW?!",:'.!- I " I 'WTW

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

•

brought to light," he exclaimed. " The noble Mandarin neither fasts nor
receives guests, for, indeed, he has slept since the sun went down. This
person would unhesitatingly break his slumber for so commendable a
purpose were it not for a circumstance of intolerable unavoidableness. It
must not even be told in a low breath b^ond the walls of the Yamen, but
my benevolent and high-born lord is in reality a person of very miserly
instincts, and nothing will call him from his natural sleep but the sound of
taels shaken beside -his bed. In an unexpected manner it comes about that
this person is quite unsupplied with anything but thin printed papers of a
thousand taels each, and these are quite useless for the purpose."

" It is unendurable that so obliging- a person should be put to such
inconvenience on behalf of one who will certainly become a public laughing-
stock at the examinations," said Ling, with deep feeling ; and taking from
a concealed spot in his garments a few taels, he placed them before the
secretary for the use he had indicated.

Ling was again left alone for upwards of two strokes of the gong, and
was on the point of sleep when the secretary returned with an expression
of dignified satisfaction upon his countenance. Concluding that he had
been successful in the manner of awakening the Mandarin, Ling was
opening his mouth for a pqlite speech, which should contain a delicate
allusion to the taels, when the secretary warned him, by affecting a sudden
look of terror, that silence was exceedingly desirable, and at the same time
opened another door and indicated to Ling that he should pass through.

In the next room Ling was overjoyed to find himself in the presence
of the Mandarin, who received him graciously, and paid many estimable
compliments to the name he bore and the country from which he came.
When at length Ling tore himself from this enchanting conversation, and
explained the reason of his presence, the Mandarin at once became a prey
to the whitest and most melancholy emotions, even plucking two hairs
from his pigtail to prove the extent and conscientiousness of his grief.

" Behold," he cried at length, " I am resolved that the extortionate
and many-handed persons at Pekin who have control of the examination
rites and customs shall no longer grow round-bodied without remark. This
person will unhesitatingly proclaim the true facts of the case without
regarding the danger that the versatile Chancellor or even the sublime
Emperor himself may, while he speaks, be concealed in some part of this
unassuming room to hear his words ; for, as it is wisely said, ' When
marked out by destiny, a person will assuredly be drowned, even though
he passes the whole of his existence among the highest branches of a date
tree.' "

" I am overwhelmed that I should be the cause of such an engaging
display of polished agitation," said Ling, as the Mandarin paused. "If it
would make your own stomach less heavy, this person will willingly follow
your estimable example, either with or without knowing the reason."

" The matter is altogether on your account, O most unobtrusive
B 17

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

young man," replied the Mandarin, when a voice without passion was
restored to him. " It tears me internally with hooks to reflect that you,
whose refined ancestors I might reasonably have known had I passed my
youth in another Province, should be a victim to the cupidity of the ones
in authority at Pekin. A very short time before you arrived there came a
messenger in haste from those persons, clearly indicating that a legal toll of
sixteen taels was to be made on each printed paper setting forth the times
and manner of the examinations, although, as you may see, the paper is
undoubtedly marked, ' Persons are given notice that they are defrauded of
any sum which they may be induced to exchange for this matter.' Further-
more, there is a legal toll of nine taels on all persons who have previously
been examined "

" I am happily escaped from that," exclaimed Ling with some
satisfaction as the Mandarin paused.

" — and twelve taels on all who present themselves for the first time.
This is to be delivered over when the paper is purchased, so that you, by
reason of this unworthy proceeding at Pekin, are required to forward to
that place, through this person, no less than thirty-two taels."

" It is a circumstance of considerable regret," replied Ling ; "for had
I only reached Canton a day earlier, I should, it appears, have avoided this
evil."

" Undoubtedly it would have been so," replied the Mandarin, who
had become engrossed in exalted meditation. " However," he continued a
moment later, as he bowed to Ling with an accomplished smile, "it
would certainly be a more pleasant thought for a person of your refined
intelligence that had you delayed until to-morrow the insatiable persons at
Pekin might be demanding twice the amount."

Pondering the deep wisdom of this remark. Ling took his departure ;
but in spite of the most assiduous watchfulness he was unable to discern
any of the three obliging persons to whose eiforts his success had been
due.

i8

CHAPTER III

IT was very late when Ling again reached the small room which he had
selected as soon as he reached Canton, but without waiting for food or
sleep he made himself fully acquainted with the times of the forthcom-
ing examinations and the details of the circumstances connected with
them. With much satisfaction he found that he had still a week in which
to revive his intellect on the most difficult subjects. Having become relieved
on these points, Ling retired for a few hours' sleep, but rose again very
early, and gave the whole day with great steadfastness to contemplation of
the sacred classics Y-King, with the exception of a short period spent in
purchasing ink, brushes, and writing-leaves. The following day, having
become mentally depressed through witnessing uncountable hordes of
candidates thronging the streets of Canton, Ling put aside his books,
and passed the time in visiting all the most celebrated tombs in the
neighbourhood of the city. Lightened in mind by this charitable and
agreeable occupation, he returned to his studies with a fixed resolution,
nor did he again falter in his purpose.

On the evening of the examination, when he was sitting alone, read-
ing by the aid of a single light, as his custom was, a person arrived to see
him, at the same time manifesting a considerable appearance of secrecy and
reserve. Inwardly sighing at the interruption. Ling nevertheless received
him with distinguished consideration and respect, setting tea before him,
and performing towards it many honourable actions with his own hands.
Not until some hours had sped in conversation relating to the health of
the Emperor, the unexpected appearance of a fiery dragon outside the city,
and the unsupportable price of opium, did the visitor allude to the object
of his presence.

" It has been observed," he remarked, " that the accomplished Ling,
who aspires to a satisfactory rank at the examinations, has never before
made the attempt. Doubtless in this case a preternatural wisdom will
avail much, and its fortunate possessor will not go unrewarded. Yet it is
as precious stones among ashes for one to triumph in such circumstances."

" The fact is known to this person," replied Ling sadly, " and the
thought of the years he may have to wait before he shall have passed even
the first degree weighs down his soul with bitterness from time to time."

»9

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

" It is no infrequent thing for men of accomplished perseverance, but
merely ordinary intellects, to grow venerable within the four walls of the
examination cell," continued the other. "Some, again, become afflicted
with various malignant evils, while not a few, chiefly those who are
presenting themselves for the first time, are so overcome on perceiving
the examination paper, and understanding the inadequate nature of their
own accomplishments, that they become an easy prey to the malicious
spirits which are ever on the watch in those places ; and, after covering
their leaves with unpresentable remarks and drawings of men and women
of distinguished rank, have at length to be forcibly carried away by the
attendants and secured with heavy chains."

" Such things undoubtedly exist," agreed Ling ; " yet by a due regard
paid to spirits, both good and bad, a proper esteem for one's ancestors, and
a sufficiency of charms about the head and body, it is possible to be closeted
with all manner of demons, and yet to suffer no evil."

" It is undoubtedly possible to do so, according to the Immortal
Principles," admitted the stranger ; " but it is not an undertaking in
which a refined person would take intelligent pleasure ; as the proverb
says, ' He is a wise and enlightened suppliant who seeks to discover an
honourable Mandarin, but he is a fool who cries out, " I have found
one."' However, it is obvious that the reason of my visit is understood,
and that your distinguished confidence in yourself is merely a graceful
endeavour to obtain my services for a less amount of taels than I should
otherwise have demanded. For half the usual sum, therefore, this person
will take your place in the examination cell, and enable your versatile
name to appear in the winning lists, while you pass your moments in
irreproachable pleasures elsewhere."

Such a course had never presented itself to Ling. As the person who
narrates this story has already remarked, he had passed his life beyond the
influence of the ways and manners of towns, and at the same time he had
naturally been endowed with an unobtrusive high-mindedness. It appeared
to him, in consequence, that by accepting this engaging offer, he yvould be
placing those who were competing with him at a disadvantage. This person
clearly sees it is a difficult matter for him to explain how this could be, as
Ling would undoubtedly reward the services of one who took his place, nor
would the number of the competitors be in any way increased ; yet in such
a way the thing took shape before his eyes. Knowing, however, that few
persons would be able to understand this action, and being desirous of not
injuring the esteemable emotions of the obliging person who had come to
him. Ling made a number of polished excuses in declining, hiding the true
reason within himself In this way he earned the powerful malignity of the
person in question, who would not depart until he had effected a number
of very disagreeable prophecies connected with unpropitious omens and in-
ternal torments, all of which undoubtedly had a great influence on Ling's
life beyond that time.

20

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING .

Each day of the examination found Ling alternately elated or depressed,
according to the length and style of the essay which he had written while
enclosed in his solitary examination cell. The trials each lasted a complete
day, and long before the fifteen days which composed the full examination
were passed, Ling found himself half reletting that he had not accepted
his visitor's offer, or even reviling the day on which he had abandoned the
hereditary calling of his ancestors. However, when, after all was over, he
came to deliberate with himself on his chances of attaining a degree, he
could not disguise from his own mind that he had well-formed hopes ; he
was not conscious of any undignified errors, and, in reply to several ques-
tions, he had been able to introduce curious knowledge which he possessed
by means of his exceptional circumstances — knowledge which it was un-
likely that any other candidate would have been able to make himself
master of.

At length the day arrived on which the results were to be made
public ; and Ling, together with all the other competitors and many
distinguished persons, attended at the great Hall of Intellectual Coloured
Lights to hear the reading of the lists. Eight thousand candidates had
been examined, and from this number less than two hundred were to be
selected for appointments. Amid a most distinguished silence the winning
names were read out. Waves of most undignified but inevitable emotion
passed over those assembled as the list neared its end, and the chances of
success became less at each spoken word. Nevertheless, Ling hoped till
the last name was given forth ; and then, finding that his was not among
them, together with the greater part of those present, he became a prey
to very inelegant thoughts, which were not lessened by the refined cries
of triumph of the successful persons. Among this confusion the one who
had read the lists was observed to be endeavouring to make his voice
known, whereupon, in the expectation that he had omitted a name,
the tumult was quickly subdued by those who again had pleasurable
visions.

" There was among the candidates one of the name of Ling," said
he, when no-noise had been obtained. "The written leaves produced by
this person are of a most versatile and conflicting order, so that, indeed,
the accomplished examiners themselves are unable to decide whether they
are very good or very bad. In this matter, therefore, it is clearly impossible
to place the expert and inimitable Ling among the foremost, as his very
uncertain success may have been brought about with the assistance of evil
spirits ; nor would it be safe to pass over his efforts without reward, as he
may be under the protection of powerful but exceedingly ill-advised deities.
The estimable Ling is told to appear again at this place after the gong has
been struck three times, when the matter will have been looked at from

all round."

At this announcement there arose another great tumult, several crying
out that assuredly their written leaves were either very good or very bad ;

21

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

but no further proclamation was made, and very soon the hall was cleared
by force.

At the time stated Ling again presented himself at the Hall, and was
honourably received.

"The unusual circumstances of the matter have already been put
forth," said an elderly Mandarin of engaging appearance, " so that nothing
remains to be made known except the end of our despicable efforts to come
to an agreeable conclusion. In this we have been successful, and now desire
to notify the result. A very desirable and not unremunerative office, rarely
bestowed in this manner, is lately vacant, and taking into our minds the
circumstances of the event, and the fact that Ling comes from a Province
very esteemed for the warlike instincts of its inhabitants, we have decided
to appoint him commander of the valiant and blood-thirsty band of archers
now stationed at Si-chow, in the province of Hu Nan. We have spoken.
Let three guns go off in honour of the noble and invincible Ling, now
and henceforth a commander in the Ever-victorious Army of the Sublime
Emperor, Brother of the Sun and Moon, and Upholder of the Four
Corners of the World."

CHAPTER IV

MANY hours passed before Ling, now more downcast in
mind than the most unsuccessful student in Canton, re-
turned to his room and sought his couch of dried rushes.
All his efforts to have his distinguished appointment set
aside had been without avail, and he had been ordered to reach Si-chow
within a week. As he passed through the streets, elegant processions in
honour of the winners met him at every corner, and drove him into the
outskirts for the object of quietness. There he remained until the beating
of paper drums and the sound of exulting voices could be heard no more ;
but even when he returned lanterns shone in many dwellings, for two
hundred persons were composing verses, setting forth their renown and
undoubted accomplishments, ready to affix to their doors and send to
friends on the next day.

Not giving any portion of his mind to this desirable act of behaviour.
Ling flung himself upon the floor, and, finding sleep unattainable, plunged
himself into profound meditation of a very uninviting order.

" Without doubt," he exclaimed, " evil can only arise from evil, and
as this person has always endeavoured to lead a life in which his devotions
have been equally divided between the sacred Emperor, his illustrious
parents, and his venerable ancestors, the fault cannot lie with him. Of
the excellence of his parents he has full knowledge ; regarding the
Emperor, it might not be safe to conjecture. It is therefore probable that
some of his ancestors were persons of abandoned manner and inelegant
habits, to worship whom results in evil rather than good. Otherwise, how
could it be that one, whose chief delight lies in the passive contemplation
of the Four Books and the Five Classics, should be selected by destiny to
fill a position calling for great personal courage and an aggressive nature ?
Assuredly it can only end in a mean and insignificant death, perhaps not
even followed by burial."

In this manner of thought he fell asleep, and after certain very base
and impressive dreams, from which good omens were altogether absent,
he awoke, and rose to begin his preparations for leaving the city.

After two days spent chiefly in obtaining certain safeguards against
treachery and the bullets of foemen, purchasing opium and other gifts
with which to propitiate the soldiers under his charge, and in consulting

23

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

well-disposed witches and readers of the future, he set out, and by
travelling in extreme discomfort, reached Si-chow within five days.
During his journey he learned that the entire Province was engaged in
secret rebellion, several towns, indeed, having declared against the Imperial
army without reserve. Those persons to whom Ling spoke described the
rebels, with respectful admiration, as fierce and unnaturally skilful in all
methods of fighting, revengeful and merciless towards their enemies, very
numerous and above the ordinary height of human beings, and endowed
with qualities which made their skin capable of turning aside every kind
of weapon. Furthermore, he was assured that a large band of the most
abandoned and best trained was at that moment in the immediate
neighbourhood of Si-chow.

Ling was not destined long to remain in any doubt concerning the
truth of these matters, for as he made his way through a dark cypress
wood, a few li from the houses of Si-chow, the sounds of a confused outcry
reached his ears, and on stepping aside to a hidden glade some distance
from the path, he beheld a young and elegant maiden of incomparable
beauty being carried away by two persons of most repulsive and undignified
appearance, whose dress and manner clearly betrayed them to be rebels of
the lowest and worst-paid type. At this sight Ling became possessed of
feelings of a savage yet agreeable order, which until that time he had not
conjectured to have any place within his mind, and without even pausing
to consider whether the planets were in favourable positions for the
enterprise to be undertaken at that time, he drew his sword, and ran
forward with loud cries. Unsettled in their intentions at this unexpected
action, the two persons turned and advanced upon Ling with whirling
daggers, discussing among themselves whether it would be better to kill
him at the first blow or to take him alive, and, when the day had
become sufficiently cool for the full enjoyment of the spectacle, submit
him to various objectionable tortures of so degraded a nature that they
were rarely used in the army of the Emperor except upon the persons of
barbarians. Observing that the maiden was not bound, Ling cried out to
her to escape and seek protection within the town, adding, with a
magnanimous absence of vanity :

" Should this person chance to fall, the repose which the presence of
so lovely and graceful a being would undoubtedly bring to his departing
spirit would be outbalanced by the unendurable thought that his common-
place efforts had not been sufficient to save her from the two evilly-disposed
individuals who are, as he perceives, at this moment, neglecting no means
within their power to accomplish his destruction."

Accepting the discernment of these words, the maiden fled, first
bestowing a look upon Ling which clearly indicated an honourable
regard for himself, a high-minded desire that the affair might end pro-
fitably on his account, and an amiable hope that they should meet again,
when these subjects could be expressed more clearly between them.

24

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

•

In the meantime Ling had become at a disadvantage, for the time
occupied in speaking and in making the necessary number of bows in
reply to her entrancing glance had given the other persons an opportunity
of arranging their charms and sacred written sentences to greater advantage,
and of occupying the most favourable grou«d for the encounter. Neverthe-
less, so great was the force of the new emotion which had entered into
Ling's nature that, without waiting to consider the dangers or the best
method of attack, he rushed upon them, waving his sword with such
force that he appeared as though surrounded by a circle of very brilliant
fire. In this way he reached the rebels, who both fell unexpectedly at one
blow, they, indeed, being under the impression that the encounter had not
commenced in reality, and that Ling was merely menacing them in order
to inspire their minds with terror and raise his own spirits. However much
he regretted this act of the incident which he had been compelled to take.
Ling could not avoid being filled with intellectual joy at finding that his
own charms and omens were more distinguished than those possessed by
the rebels, none of whom, as he now plainly understood, he need fear.

Examining these things within his mind, and reflecting on the events
of the past few days, by which he had been thrown into a class of circum-
stances greatly differing from anything which he had ever sought. Ling
continued his journey, and soon found himself before the southern gate of
Si-chow. Entering the town, he at once formed the resolution of going
before the Mandarin for 'Warlike Deeds and Arrangements, so that he
might present, without delay, the papers and seals which he had brought
with him from Canton.

" The noble Mandarin Li Keen ? " replied the first person to whom
Ling addressed himself " It would indeed be a difficult and hazardous
conjecture to make concerning his sacred person. By chance he is in the
strongest and best-concealed cellar in Si-chow, unless the sumptuous
attractions of the deepest dry well have induced him to make a short
journey" ; and, with a look of great unfriendliness at Ling's dress and
weapons, this person passed on.

"Doubtless, he is fighting single-handed against the armed men by
whom the place is surrounded," said another ; " or perhaps he is con-
structing an underground road from the Yamen to Pekin, so that we
may all escape when the town is taken. All that can be said with certainty
is that the Heaven-sent and valorous Mandarin has not been seen outside
the walls of his well-fortified residence since the trouble arose ; but, as you
carry a sword of conspicuous excellence, you will doubtless be welcome."

Upon making a third attempt Ling was more successful, for he
inquired of an aged woman, who had neither a reputation for keen and
polished sentences to maintain, nor any interest in the acts of the Mandarin
or of the rebels. From her he learned how to reach the Yamen, and
accordingly turned his footsteps in that direction.

When at length he arrived at the gate. Ling desired his tablets to be

25

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

carried to the Mandarin with many expressions of an impressive and
engaging nature, nor did he neglect to reward the porter. It was therefmre
with the expression of a misunderstanding mind that he received a reply
setting forth that Li Keen was unable to receive him. In great doubt he
prevailed upon the porter, by means of a still larger reward, again to carry
in his message, and on this occasion an answer in this detail was placed
before him.

" Li Keen," he was informed, " is indeed awaiting the arrival of one
Ling, a noble and valiant Commander of Bowmen. He is given to under-
stand, it is true, that a certain person claiming the same honoured name is
standing in somewhat undignified attitudes at the gate, but he is unable in
any way to make these two individuals meet within his intellect. He
would further remind all persons that the refined observances laid down
by the wise and exalted Board of Rites and Ceremonies have a marked
and irreproachable significance when the country is in a state of disorder,
the town surrounded by rebels, and every breathing-space of time of more
than ordinary value."

Overpowered with becoming shame at having been connected with so
unseemly a breach of civility, for which his great haste had in reality been
accountable, Ling hastened back into the town, and spent many hours in
endeavouring to obtain a chair of the requisite colour in which to visit
the Mandarin. In this he was unsuccessful, until it was at length suggested
to him that an ordinary chair, such as stood for hire in the streets of
Si-chow, would be acceptable if covered with blue paper. Still in some
doubt as to what the nature of his reception would be. Ling had no
choice but to take this course, and accordingly he again reached the
Yamen in such a manner, carried by two persons whom he had obtained
for the purpose. While yet hardly at the residence a salute was suddenly
fired ; all the gates and doors were, without delay, thrown open with
embarrassing and hospitable profusion, and the Mandarin himself passed
out, and would have assisted Ling to step down from his chair had not
that person, clearly perceiving that such a course would be too great an
honour, evaded him by an unobtrusive display of versatile dexterity. So
numerous and profound were the graceful remarks which each made
concerning the habits and accomplishments of the other that more than
the space of an hour was passed in traversing the small enclosed ground
which led up to the principal door of the Yamen. There an almost
greater time was agreeably spent, both Ling and the Mandarin having
determined that the other should enter first. Undoubtedly Ling, who was
the more powerful of the two, would have conferred this courteous dis-
tinction upon Li Keen had not that person summoned to his side certain
attendants who succeeded in frustrating Ling in his high-minded inten-
tions, and in forcing him through the doorway in spite of his conscien-
tious protests against the unsurmountable obligation under which the
circumstances placed him.

26

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

•

Conversing in this intellectual and dignified manner, the strokes of
the gong passed unheeded ; tea had been brought into their presence
many times, and night had fallen before the Mandarin allowed Ling to
refer to the matter which had brought him to that place, and to present
his written papers and seals. •

" It is a valuable privilege to have so intelHgent a person as the
illustrious Ling occupying this position," remarked the Mandarin, as he
returned the papers ; " and not less so on account of the one who preceded
him proving himself to be a person of feeble attainments and an un-
endurable deficiency of resource."

" To one with the all-knowing Li Keen's mental acquisitions, such a
person must indeed have become excessively offensive," replied Ling
delicately ; " for, as it is truly said, ' Although there exist many thousand
subjects for elegant conversation, there are pei'sons who cannot meet a
cripple without talking about feet.' "

" He to whom I have referred was such a one," said Li Keen,
appreciating with an expression of countenance the fitness of Ling's
proverb. " He was totally inadequate to the requirements of his position ;
for he possessed no military knowledge, and was placed in command by
those at Pekin as a result of his taking a high place at one of the examina-
tions. But more than this, although his three years of service were almost
completed, I was quite unsuccessful in convincing him that an unseemly
degradation probably awaited him unless he could furnish me with the
means with which to propitiate the persons in authority at Pekin. This
he neglected to do with obstinate pertinacity, which compelled this person
to inquire within himself whether one of so little discernment could be
trusted with an important and arduous office. After much deliberation,
this person came to the decision that the Commander in question was not
a fit person, and he therefore reported him to the Imperial Board of
Punishment at Pekin as one subject to frequent and periodical eccentricities,
and possessed of less than ordinary intellect. In consequence of this act
of justice, the Commander was degraded to the rank of common bowman,
and compelled to pay a heavy fine in addition."

" It was a just and enlightened conclusion of the affair," said Ling,
in spite of a deep feeling of no enthusiasm, " and one which surprisingly
bore out your own prophecy in the matter."

" It was an inspired warning to persons who should chance to, be in a
like position at any time," replied Li Keen. " So grasping and corrupt are
those who control affairs in Pekin that I have no doubt they would
scarcely hesitate in debasing even one so immaculate as the exceptional
Ling, and placing him in some laborious and ill-paid civil department
should he not accede to their extortionate demands."

This suggestion did not carry with it the unpleasurable emotions
which the Mandarin anticipated it would. The fierce instincts which had
been aroused within Ling by the incident in the cypress wood had died

27

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

out, while his lamentable ignorance of military affairs was ever before his
mind. These circumstances, together with his naturally gentle habits made
him regard such a degradation rather favourably than otherwise. He was
meditating within himself whether he could arrange such a course without
delay when the Mandarin continued :

" That, however, is a possibility which is remote to the extent of at
least two or three years ; do not, therefore, let so unpleasing a thought
cast darkness upon our brows or remove the unparalleled splendour of so
refined an occasion. . . . Doubtless the accomplished Ling is a master of
the art of chess-play, for many of our most thoughtful philosophers have
declared war to be nothing but such a game ; let this slow-witted and
cumbersome person have an opportunity, therefore, of polishing his
declining faculties by a pleasant and dignified encounter."

28

CHAPTER V

ON the next day, having completed his business at the Yamen,
Ling left the town, and without desiring any ceremony quietly
betook himself to his new residence within the camp, which
was situated among the millet fields some distance from Si-
chow, As soon as his presence became known all those who occupied
positions of command, and whose years of service would shortly come to
an end, hastened to present themselves before him, bringing with them
offerings according to the rank they held, they themselves requiring a
similar service from those beneath them. First among these, and next in
command to Ling himself, was the Chief of Bowmen, a person whom
Ling observed with extreme satisfaction to be very powerful in body
and possessing a strong and dignified countenance which showed un-
questionable resolution and shone with a tiger - like tenaciousness of
purpose.

" Undoubtedly," thought Ling, as he observed this noble and pre-
possessing person, " here is one who will be able to assist me in whatever
perplexities may arise. Never was there an individual who seemed more
worthy to command and lead ; assuredly to him the most intricate and
prolonged military positions will be an enjoyment ; the most crafty
stratagems of the enemy as the full moon rising from behind a screen of
rushes. Without making any pretence of knowledge, this person will
explain the facts of the case to him and place himself without limit in
his hands."

For this purpose he therefore detained the Chief of Bowmen when
the others departed, and complimented him, with many expressive phrases,
on the excellence of his appearance, as the thought occurred to him that
by this means, without disclosing the full measure of his ignorance, the
person in question might be encouraged to speak unrestrainedly of the
nature of his exploits, and perchance thereby explain the uses of the
appliances employed and the meaning of the various words of order, in
all of which details the Commander was as yet most disagreeably
imperfect. In this, however, he was disappointed, for the Chief of
Bowmen, greatly to Ling's surprise, received all his polished sentences
with somewhat foolish smiles of great self-satisfaction, merely replying

29

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

from time to time as he displayed his pigtail to greater advantage or
rearranged his gold-embroidered cloak :

" This person must really pray you to desist ; the honour is indeed
too great."

Disappointed in his hope, and not desiring after this circumstance to
expose his shortcomings to one who was obviously not of a highly-refined
understanding, no matter how great his valour in war or his knowledge of
military affairs might be, Ling endeavoured to lead him to converse of the
bowmen under his charge. In this matter he was more successful, for the
Chief spoke at great length and with evilly-inspired contempt of their
inelegance, their undiscriminating and excessive appetites, and the
frequent use which they made of low words and gestures. Desiring to
become acquainted rather with their methods of warfare than with their
domestic details. Ling inquired of him what formation they relied upon
when receiving the foemen.

" It is a matter which has not engaged the attention of this one,"
replied the Chief, with an excessive absence of interest. " There are so
many affairs of intelligent dignity which cannot be put aside, and which
occupy one from beginning to end. As an example, this person may
describe how the accomplished Li-Lu, generally depicted as the Blue-
eyed Dove of Virtuous and Serpent-like Attitudes, has been scattering
glory upon the Si-chow Hall of Celestial Harmony for many days past.
It is an enlightened display which the high-souled Ling should certainly
endeavour to dignify with his presence, especially at the portion where the
amiable Li-Lu becomes revealed in the appearance of a Pekin sedan-chair
bearer and describes the manner and likenesses of certain persons — chiefly
high-priests of Buddha, excessively round-bodied merchants who feign to
be detained within Pekin on affairs of commerce, maidens who attend at
the tables of tea-houses, and those of both sexes who are within the city
for the first time to behold its temples and open spaces — who are conveyed
from place to place in the chair."

" And the bowmen ? " suggested Ling, with difficulty restraining an
undignified emotion.

" Really, the elegant Ling will discover them to be persons of deficient
manners, and quite unworthy of occupying his well-bred conversation,"
replied the Chief " As regards their methods — if the renowned Ling insists
— they fight by means of their bows, with which they discharge arrows
at the foemen, they themselves hiding behind trees and rocks. Should
the enemy be undisconcerted by the cloud of arrows, and advance, the
bowmen are instructed to make a last endeavour to frighten them back
by uttering loud shouts and feigning the voices of savage beasts of the
forest and deadly snakes."

" And beyond that ? " inquired Ling.

"Beyond that there are no instructions," replied the Chief. "The
bowmen would then naturally take to flight, or, if such a course became

30

The unprepossessing conduct of the chief of bowmen.

i**;

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

impossible, run to meet the enemy, protesting that they were convinced*
of the justice of their cause, and were determined to fight on their side in
the future."

" Would it not be of advantage to arm them with cutting weapons
also ? " inquired Ling ; " so that when all their arrows were discharged
they would still be able to take part ifi the fight, and not be lost
to us?"

" They would not be lost to us, of course," replied the Chief, " as
we should still be with them. But such a course as the one you suggest
could not fail to end in dismay. Being as well armed as ourselves, they
would then turn upon us, and, having destroyed us, proceed to establish
leaders of their own."

As Ling and the Chief of Bowmen conversed in this enlightened
manner, there arose a great outcry from among the tents, and presently
there entered to them a spy who had discovered a strong force of the
enemy not more than ten or twelve li away, who showed every indication
of marching shortly in the direction of Si-chow. In numbers alone, he
continued, they were greatly superior to the bowmen, and all were well
armed. The spreading of this news threw the entire camp into great
confusion, many protesting that the day was not a favourable one on
which to fight, others crying out that it was their duty to fall back on
Si-chow and protect the women and children. In the midst of this tumult
the Chief of Bowmen returned to Ling, bearing in his hand a written
paper which he regarded in uncontrollable anguish.

" Oh, illustrious Ling," he cried, restraining his grief with difficulty,
and leaning for support upon the shoulders of two bowmen, " how
prosperous indeed are you ! What greater misfortune can engulf a person
who is both an ambitious soldier and an afi^ectionate son, than to lose such
a chance of glory and promotion as only occurs once within the lifetime,
and an affectionate and venerable father upon the same day ? Behold this
mandate to attend, without a moment's delay, at the funeral obsequies of
one whom I left, only last week, in the fulness of health and power. The
occasion being an unsuitable one, I will not call upon the courteous Ling
to join with me in sorrow ; but his own devout filial piety is so well
known that I conscientiously rely upon an application for absence to be
only a matter of official ceremony."

"The application will certainly be regarded as merely official
ceremony," replied Ling, without resorting to any delicate pretence of
meaning, " and the refined scruples of the person who is addressing me
will be fully met by the official date of his venerated father's death being
fixed for a more convenient season. In the meantime, the unobtrusive
Chief of Bowmen may take the opportunity of requesting that the family
tomb be kept unsealed until he is heard from again."

Ling turned away, as he finished this remark, with a dignified
feeling of not inelegant resentment. In this way he chanced to observe

31

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

a large body of soldiers which was leaving the camp accompanied by
their lesser captains, all crowned with garlands of flowers and creep-
ing plants. In spite of his very inadequate attainments regarding words
of order, the Commander made it understood by means of an ex-
ceedingly short sentence that he was desirous of the men returning
without delay.

" Doubtless the accomplished Commander, being but newly arrived in
this neighbourhood, is unacquainted with the significance of this display,"
said one of the lesser captains pleasantly. "Know, then, O wise and
custom-respecting Ling, that on a similar day many years ago this valiant
band of bowmen was engaged in a very honourable affair with certain
of the enemy. Since then it has been the practice to commemorate the
matter with music and other forms of delight within the large square
at Si-chow."

"Such customs are excellent," said Ling affably. "On this
occasion, however, the public square will be so insufferably thronged
with the number of timorous and credulous villagers who have pressed
into the town that insufficient justice would be paid to your entranc-
ing display. In consequence of this, we will select for the purpose
some convenient spot in the neighbourhood. The proceedings will
be commenced by a display of arrow-shooting at moving objects,
followed by racing and dancing, in which this person will lead. I have
spoken."

At these words many of the more courageous ,among the bowmen
became destructively inspired, and raised shouts of defiance against the
enemy, enumerating at great length the indignities which they would
heap upon their prisoners. Cries of distinction were also given on behalf
of Ling, even the most terrified exclaiming :

" The noble Commander Ling will lead us ! He has promised, and
assuredly he will not depart from his word. Shielded by his broad and
sacred body, from which the bullets glance aside harmlessly, we will
advance upon the enemy in the stealthy manner affected by ducks when
crossing the swamp. How altogether superior a person our Commander
is when likened unto the leaders of the foemen — they who go into battle
completely surrounded by their archers ! "

Upon this, perceiving the clear direction in which matters were
turning, the Chief of Bowmen again approached Ling.

" Doubtless the highly-favoured person whom I am now addressing
has been endowed with exceptional authority direct from Pekin," he
remarked, with insidious politeness. " Otherwise this narrow-minded
individual would suggest that such a decision does not come within
the judgment of a Commander."

In his ignorance of military matters, it had not entered the mind of
Ling that his authority did not give him the power to commence an
attack without consulting other and more distinguished persons. At the

32

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

•

suggestion, which he accepted as being composed of truth, he paused,
the enlightened zeal with which he had been inspired dying out as he
plainly understood the difficulties by which he was enclosed. There
seemed a single expedient path for him in the matter ; so directing a
person of exceptional trustworthiness to prepare himself for a journey, he
inscribed a communication to the Mandarin Li Keen, in which he
narrated the facts and asked for speedy directions, and then despatched
it with great urgency to Si-chow.

33

CHAPTER VI

WHEN these matters were arranged, Ling returned to his
tent, a victim to feelings of a deep and confused doubt,
for all courses seemed to be surrounded by extreme danger,
with the strong probability of final disaster. While he
was considering these things attentively, the spy who had brought word
of the presence of the enemy again sought him. As he entered. Ling
perceived that his face was the colour of a bleached linen garment,
while there came with him the odour of sickness.

" There are certain matters which this person has not made known,"
he said, having first expressed a request that he might not be compelled to
stand while he conversed, "The bowmen are as an inferior kind of jackal,
and they who lead them are pigs, but this person has observed that the
Heaven-sent Commander has internal organs like steel hardened in a
white fire and polished by running water. For this reason he will narrate
to him the things he has seen — things at which the lesser ones would
undoubtedly perish in terror without offering to strike a blow."
" Speak," said Ling, " without fear and without concealment."
" In numbers the rebels are as three to one with the bowmen, and
are, in addition, armed with matchlocks and other weapons ; this much I
have already told," said the spy. " Yesterday they entered the village of Ki
without resistance, as the dwellers there were all peaceable persons, who
gain a living from the fields, and who neither understood nor troubled
about the matters between the rebels and the army. Relying on the
promises made by the rebel chiefs, the villagers even welcomed them, as
they had been assured that they came as buyers of their corn and rice. To-
day not a house stands in the street of Ki, not a person lives. The men
they slew quickly, or held for torture, as they desired at the moment ;
the boys they hung from the trees as marks for their arrows. Of the
women and children this person, who has since been subject to several
attacks of fainting and vomiting, desires not to speak. The wells of Ki
are filled with the bodies of such as had the good fortune to be warned
in time to slay themselves. The cattle drag themselves from place to
place on their forefeet ; the fish in the Heng-Kiang are dying, for they
cannot live on water thickened into blood. All these things this person
has seen."

34

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING .

When he had finished speaking, Ling remained in deep and funereal
thought for some time. In spite of his mild nature, the words which he
had heard filled him with an inextinguishable desire to slay in hand-to-hand
fighting. He regretted that he had placed the decision of the matter before
Li Keen. •

" If only this person had a mere handful of brave and expert warriors,
he would not hesitate to fall upon those savage and barbarous characters,
and either destroy them to the last one, or let his band suffer a like fate,"
he murmured to himself.

The return of the messenger found him engaged in reviewing the
bowmen, and still in this mood, so that it was with a commendable
feeling of satisfaction, no less than virtuous contempt, that he learned of
the Mandarin's journey to Pekin as soon as he understood that the rebels
were certainly in the neighbourhood.

" The wise and ornamental Li Keen is undoubtedly consistent in all
matters," said Ling, with some refined bitterness. " The only information
regarding his duties which this person obtained from him chanced to be a
likening of war to skilful chess-play, and to this end the accomplished
person in question has merely availed himself of a common expedient
which places him at the remote side of the divine Emperor. Yet this
act is not unwelcome, for the responsibility of deciding, what course is
to be adopted now clearly rests with this person. He is, as those who
are standing by may perceive, of under the usual height, and of no
particular mental or bodily attainments. But he has eaten the rice of the
Emperor, and wears the Imperial sign embroidered upon his arm. Before
him are encamped the enemies of his master and of his land, and in no
way will he turn his back upon them. Against brave and skilful men,
such as those whom this person commands, rebels of a low and degraded
order are powerless, and are, moreover, openly forbidden to succeed by
the Forty-second Mandate in the Sacred Book of Arguments. Should it
have happened that into this assembly any person of a perfidious or
uncourageous nature has gained entrance by guile, and has been undetected
and driven forth by his outraged companions (as would certainly occur if
such a person were discovered), I, Ling, Commander of Bowmen, make
an especial and well-considered request that he shall be struck by a
molten thunderbolt if he turns to flight or holds thoughts of treachery."

Having thus addressed and encouraged the soldiers, Ling instructed
them that each one should cut and fashion for himself a graceful but
weighty club from among the branches of the trees around, and then
return to the tents for the purpose of receiving food and rice spirit.

When noon was passed, allowing such time as would enable him to
reach the camp of the enemy an hour before darkness, Ling arranged the
bowmen in companies of convenient numbers, and commenced the march,
sending forward spies, who were to work silently and bring back tidings
from every point. In this way he penetrated to within a single li of the

35

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

ruins of Ki, being informed by the spies that no outposts of the enemy
were between him and that place. Here the first rest was made to enable
the more accurate and bold spies to reach them with trustworthy informa-
tion regarding the position and movements of the camp. With little delay
there returned the one who had brought the earliest tidings, bruised and
torn with his successful haste through the forest, but wearing a com-
placent and well-satisfied expression of countenance. Without hesitation
or waiting to demand money before he would reveal his knowledge, he
at once disclosed that the greater part of the enemy were rejoicing among
the ruins of Ki, they having discovered there a quantity of opium and a
variety of liquids, while only a small guard remained in the camp with
their weapons ready. At these words Ling sprang from the ground in
gladness, so. great was his certainty of destroying the invaders utterly. It
was, however, with less pleasurable emotions that he considered how he
should effect the matter, for it was in no way advisable to divide his
numbers into two bands. Without any feeling of unendurable conceit, he
understood that no one but himself could hold the bowmen before an
assault, however weak. In a similar manner he determined that it would
be more advisable to attack those in the village first. These he might
have reasonable hopes of cutting down without warning the camp, or, in
any event, before those from the camp arrived. To assail the camp first
would assuredly, by the firing, draw down upon them those from the
village, and in whatever evil state these might arrive, they would, by
their numbers, terrify the bowmen, who without doubt would have
suffered some loss from the matchlocks.

Waiting for the last light of the day. Ling led on the men again, and
sending forward some of the most reliable, surrounded the place of the
village silently and without detection. In the open space, among broken
casks and other inconsiderable matters, plainly shown by the large fires
at which burned the last remains of the houses of Ki, many tnen moved
or lay, some already dull or in heavy sleep. As the darkness dropped
suddenly, the signal of a peacock's shriek, three times uttered, rang forth,
and immediately a cloud of arrows, directed from all sides, poured in
among those who feasted. Seeing their foemen defenceless before them,
the archers neglected the orders they had received, and throwing away
their bows they rushed in with uplifted clubs, uttering loud shouts of
triumph. The next moment a shot was fired in the wood, drums beat,
and in an unbelievably short space of time a small but well-armed band of
the enemy was among them. Now that all need of caution was at an end,
Lmg rushed forward with raised sword, calling to his men that victory
was certainly theirs, and dealing discriminating and inspiriting blows
whenever he met a foeman. Three times he formed the bowmen into a
figure emblematic of triumph, and led them against the line of match-
locks. Twice they fell back, leaving mingled dead under the feet of the
enemy. The third time they stood firm, and Ling threw himself against

36

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

•

the waving rank in a noble and inspired endeavour to lead the way
through. At that moment, when a very distinguished victory seemtd
within his hand, his elegant and well-constructed sword broke upon an
iron shield, leaving him defenceless and surrounded by the enemy.

" Chief among the sublime virtues eq^pined by the divine Confucius,"
began Ling, folding his arms and speaking in an unmoved voice, " is an

intelligent submission " but at that word he fell beneath a rain of

heavy and unquestionably well-aimed blows.

37

CHAPTER VII

BETWEEN Si-chow and the village of Ki, in a house com-
pletely hidden from travellers by the tall and black trees which
surrounded it, lived an aged and very wise person whose ways
and manner of living had become so distasteful to his neigh-
bours that they at length agreed to regard him as a powerful and
ill-disposed magician. In this way it became a custom that all very
unseemly deeds committed by those who, in the ordinary course, would
not be guilty of such behaviour, should be attributed to his influence,
so that justice might be effected without persons of assured respectability
being put to any inconvenience. Apart from the feeling which resulted
from this just decision, the uncongenial person in question had become
exceedingly unpopular on account of certain definite actions of his own,
as that of causing the greater part of Si-chow to be burned down by
secretly breathing upon the seven sacred water-jugs to which the town
owed its prosperity and freedom from fire. Furthermore, although
possessed of many taels, and able to afford such food as is to be found
upon the tables of mandarins, he selected from choice dishes of an
objectionable nature ; he had been observed to eat eggs of unbecoming
freshness, and the Si-Choiv Official Printed Leaf made it public that he
had, on an excessively hot occasion, openly partaken of cow's milk. It
is not a matter for wonder, therefore, that when unnaturally loud thunder
was heard in the neighbourhood of Si-chow the more ignorant and
credulous persons refused to continue in any description of work until
certain ceremonies connected with rice spirit, and the adherence to a
reclining position for some hours, had been conscientiously observed as
a protection against evil.

Not even the most venerable person in Si-chow could remember the
time when the magician had not lived there, and as there existed no
written record narrating the incident, it was with well-founded probability
that he was said to be incapable of death. Contrary to the most general
practice, although quite unmarried, he had adopted no son to found a line
which would worship his memory in future years, but had instead brought
up and caused to be educated in the most difficult varieties of embroidery
a young girl, to whom he referred, for want of a more suitable description,

38

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

•
as the daughter of his sister, although he would admit without hesitation,
when closely questioned, that he had never possessed a sister, at the same
time, however, alluding with some pride to many illustrious brothers, who
had all obtained distinction in various employments.

Few persons of any high position p^petrated into the house of the
magician, and most of these retired with inelegant haste on perceiving
that no domestic altar embellished the great hall. Indeed, not to make
concealment of the fact, the magician was a person who had entirely
neglected the higher virtues in an avaricious pursuit of wealth. In that
way all his time and a very large number of taels had been expended,
testing results by means of the four elements, and putting together things
which had been inadequately arrived at by others. It was confidently
asserted in Si-chow that he possessed every manner of printed leaf which
had been composed in whatsoever language, and all the most precious
charms, including many snake-skins of more than ordinary rarity, and
the fang of a black wolf which had been stung by seven scorpions.

On the death of his father the magician had become possessed of
great wealth, yet he contributed little to the funeral obsequies, nor did
any suggestion of a durable and expensive nature for conveying his
enlightened name and virtues down to future times cause his face to
become gladdened. In order to preserve greater secrecy about the enchant-
ments which he certainly performed, he employed only two persons within
the house, one of whom was blind and the other deaf. In this ingenious
manner he hoped to receive attention and yet be unobserved — the blind
one being unable to see the nature of the incantations which he undertook,
and the deaf one being unable to hear the words. In this, however, he was
unsuccessful, as the two persons always contrived to be present together,
and to explain to one another the nature of the various matters afterwards ;
but as they were of somewhat deficient understanding, the circumstance
was unimportant.

It was with more uneasiness that the magician perceived one day
that the maiden whom he had adopted was no longer a child. As he
desired secrecy above all things until he should have completed the one
important matter for which he had laboured all his life, he decided with
extreme unwillingness to put into operation a powerful charm towards
her, which would have the effect of diminishing all her attributes until
such time as he might release her again. Owing to his reluctance in the
matter, however, the magic did not act fully, but only in such a way that
her feet became naturally and without binding the most perfect and
beautiful in the entire province of Hu Nan, so that ever afterwards she
was called Pan Fei Mian, in delicate reference to that Empress whose
feet were so symmetrical that a golden lily sprang up wherever she trod.
Afterwards the magician made no further essay in the matter, chiefly
because he was ever convinced that the accomplishment of his desire
was within his grasp.

39

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

The rumours of armed men in the neighbourhood of Si-chow threw
the magician into an unendurable condition of despair. To lose all, as
would most assuredly happen if he had to leave his arranged rooms and
secret preparations and take to flight, was the more bitter because he felt
surer than ever that success was even standing by his side. The very subtle
liquid, which would mix itself into the component parts of the living
creature which drank it, and by an insidious and harmless process so work
that, when the spirit departed, the flesh would become resolved into a
figure of pure and solid gold of the finest quality, had engaged the refined
minds of many of the most expert individuals of remote ages. With most
of these inspired persons, however, the search had been undertaken in
pure-minded benevolence, their chief aim being an honourable desire to
discover a method by which one's ancestors might be permanently and
effectively preserved in a fit and becoming manner to receive the worship
and veneration of posterity. Yet, in spite of these amiable motives, and of
the fact that the magician merely desired the possession of the secret to
enable him to become excessively wealthy, the affair had been so arranged
that it should come into his possession.

The matter which concerned Mian in the dark wood, when she was
only saved by the appearance of the person who is already known as Ling,
entirely removed all pleasurable emotions from the magician's mind, and
on many occasions he stated in a definite and systematic manner that he
would shortly end an ignoble career which seemed to be destined only to
gloom and disappointment. In this way an important misunderstanding
arose, for when, two days later, during the sound of matchlock firing,
the magician suddenly approached the presence of Mian with an un-
controllable haste and an entire absence of dignified demeanour, and fell
dead at her feet without expressing himself on any subject whatever, she
deliberately judged that in this manner he had carried his remark into
effect ; nor did the closed vessel of yellow liquid which he held in his
hand seem to lead away from this decision. In reality, the magician had
fallen owing to the heavy and conflicting emotions which success had
engendered in an intellect already greatly weakened by his continual
disregard of the higher virtues ; for the bottle, indeed, contained the
perfection of his entire life's study, the very expensive and three-times-
purified gold liquid.

On perceiving the magician's condition, Mian at once called for the
two attendants, and directed them to bring from an inner chamber all the
most effective curing substances, whether in the form of powder or liquid.
When these proved useless, no matter in what way they were applied, it
became evident that there could be very little hope of restoring the
magician, yet so courageous and grateful for the benefits which she had
received from the person in question was Mian, that, in spite of the
uninviting dangers of the enterprise, she determined to journey to Ki to
invoke the assistance of a certain person who was known to be very

40

A powerful and ill-disposed magician.

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

successful in casting out malicious demons from the bodies of animals,
and from casks and barrels, in which they frequently took refuge, to
the great detriment of the quality of the liquid placed therein.

Not without many hidden fears, Mian set out on her journey, greatly
desiring not to be subjected to an encounter^f a nature similar to the one
already recorded ; for in such a case she could hardly again hope for the
inspired arrival of the one whom she now often thought of in secret as the
well-formed and symmetrical young sword-user. Nevertheless, an event of
equal significance was destined to prove the wisdom of the well-known
remark concerning thoughts which are occupying one's intellect and the
unexpected appearance of a very formidable evil spirit ; for as she passed
along, quickly yet with so dignified a motion that the moss received no
impression beneath her footsteps, she became aware of a circumstance which
caused her to stop by imparting to her mind two definite and greatly dis-
similar emotions.

In a grassy and open space, on the verge of which she stood, lay the
dead bodies of seventeen rebels, all disposed in very degraded attitudes, which
contrasted strongly with the easy and becoming position adopted by the
eighteenth — one who bore the unmistakable emblems of the Imperial army.
In this brave and noble-looking personage Mian at once saw her preserver,
and not doubting that an inopportune and treacherous death had overtaken
him, she ran forward and raised him in her arms, being well assured that
however indiscreet such an action might appear in the case of an ordinary
person, the most select maiden need not hesitate to perform so honourable
a service in regard to one whose virtues had by that time undoubtedly
placed him among the Three Thousand Pure Ones. Being disturbed in this
providential manner. Ling opened his eyes, and faintly murmuring, " Oh,
sainted and adorable Koon Yam, Goddess of Charity, intercede for me with
Buddha ! " he again lost possession of himself in the Middle Air. At this
remark, which plainly proved Ling to be still alive, in spite of the fact that
both the maiden and the person himself had thoughts to the contrary, Mian
found herself surrounded by a variety of embarrassing circumstances, among
which occurred a remembrance of the dead magician and the wise person
at Ki whom she had set out to summon ; but on considering the various
natural and sublime laws which bore directly on the alternative before her,
she discovered that her plain destiny was to endeavour to retain the breath
in the person who was still alive rather than engage on the very unsatisfac-
tory chance of attempting to call it back to the body from which it had so
long been absent.

Having been inspired to this conclusion — which, when she later
examined her mind, she found not to be repulsive to her own inner feelings
— Mian returned to the house with dexterous speed, and calling together
the two attendants, she endeavoured by means of signs and drawings to
explain to them what she desired to accomplish. Succeeding in this after
some delay (for the persons in question, being very illiterate and narrow-

41

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

minded, were unable at first to understand the existence of any recumbent
male person other than the dead magician, whom they thereupon commenced
to bury in the garden with expressions of great satisfaction at their own
intelligence in comprehending Mian's meaning so readily), they all journeyed
to the wood, and bearing Ling between them, they carried him to the house
without further adventure.

42

CHAPTER VIII

IT was in the month of Hot Dragon Breaths, many weeks after the
fight in the woods of Ki, that Ling again opened his eyes, to find
himself in an unknown chamber, and to recognise in the one who
visited him from time to time the incomparable maiden whose
life he had saved in the cypress glade. Not a day had passed in the
meanwhile on which Mian had neglected to offer sacrifices to Chang-
Chung, the deity interested in drugs and healing substances, nor had she
wavered in her firm resolve to bring Ling back to an ordinary existence
even when the two attendants had protested that the person in question
might without impropriety be sent to the Restoring Establishment of
the Last Chance, so little did his hope of recovering rest upon the efforts
of living beings.

After he had beheld Mian's face and understood the circumstances of
his escape and recovery. Ling quickly shook off the evil vapours which had
held him down so long, and presently he was able to walk slowly in the
courtyard and in the shady paths of the wood beyond, leaning upon Mian
for the support he still required.

" Oh, graceful one," he said on such an occasion when little stood
between him and the full powers which he had known before the battle,
" there is a matter which has been pressing upon this person's mind for
some time past. It is as dark after light to let the thoughts dwell around
it, yet the thing itself must inevitably soon be regarded, for in this life one's
actions are for ever regulated by conditions which are neither of one's own
seeking nor within one's power of controlling."

At these words all brightness left Mian's manner, for she at once
understood that Ling referred to his departure, of which she herself had
lately come to think with unrestrained agitation.

" Oh, Ling," she exclaimed at length, " most expert of sword-users
and most noble of men, surely never was a maiden more inelegantly placed
than the one who is now by your side. To you she owes her life, yet it is
unseemly for her even to speak of the incident ; to you she must look for
protectioh, yet she cannot ask you to stay by her side. She is indeed alone.
The magician is dead, Ki has fallen, Ling is going, and Mian is undoubtedly
the most unhappy and solitary person between The Wall and the Nan
Hai."

43

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

" Beloved Mian," exclaimed Ling, with inspiring vehemence, " and is
not the utterly unworthy person before you indebted to you in a double
measure that life is still within him ? Is not the strength which now pro-
motes him to such exceptional audacity as to aspire to your lovely hand,
of your own creating ? Only encourage Ling to entertain a well-founded
hope that on his return he shall not find you partaking of the wedding
feast of some wealthy and exceptionally round-bodied mandarin, and this
person will accomplish the journey to Canton and back as it were in four
strides."

" Oh, Ling, reflection of my ideal, holder of my soul, it would indeed
be very disagreeable to my own feelings to make any reply save one,"
repHed Mian, scarcely above a breath-voice. " Gratitude alone would direct
me, were it not that the great love which fills me leaves no resting-place
for any other emotion than itself Go if you must, but return quickly, for
your absence will weigh upon Mian like a dragon-dream."

" Violet light of my eyes," exclaimed Ling, " even in surroundings
which with the exception of the matter before us are uninspiring in the
extreme, your virtuous and retiring encouragement yet raises me to such
a commanding eminence of demonstrative happiness that I fear I shall
become intolerably self-opinionated towards my fellow-men in conse-
quence."

" Such a thing is impossible with my Ling," said Mian, with convic-
tion. " But must you indeed journey to Canton V

" Alas ! " replied Ling, " gladly would this person decide against such
a course did the matter rest with him, for as The Verses say, ' It is need-
less to apply the ram's head to the unlocked door.' But Ki is demolished,
the unassuming Mandarin Li Keen has retired to Pekin, and of the fortunes
of his bowmen this person is entirely ignorant."

" Such as survived returned to their homes," replied Mian, " and Si-
chow is safe, for the scattered and broken rebels fled to the . mountains
again ; so much this person has learned."

" In that case Si-chow is undoubtedly safe for the time, and can be
left with prudence," said Ling. " It is an unfortunate circumstance .that
there is no mandarin oF authority between here and Canton who can receive
from this person a statement of past facts and give him instructions for the
future."

" And what will be the nature of such instructions as will be given at
Canton ? " demanded Mian.

" By chance they may take the form of raising another company of
bowmen," said Ling, with a sigh, " but, indeed, if this person can obtain
any weight by means of his past service, they will tend towards a pleasant
and unambitious civil appointment."

" Oh, my artless and noble-minded lover ! " exclaimed Mian, "assuredly
a veil has been before your eyes during your residence in Canton, and your
naturally benevolent mind has turned all things into good, or you would

44

The lotus-hung meeting-place of the two with whom the
printed leaves are chiefly concerned.

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

not thus hopefully refer to your brilliant exploits in the past. Of what com-
mercial benefit have they been to the sordid and miserly persons in authority,
or in what way have they diverted a stream of taels into their insatiable
pockets ? Far greater is the chance that had Si-chow fallen many of its
household goods would have found their w^^ into the Yamens of Canton.
Assuredly in Li Keen you will have a friend who will make many delicate
allusions to your ancestors when you meet, and yet one who will float many
barbed whispers to follow you when you have passed ; for you have planted
shame before him in the eyes of those who would otherwise neither have
eyes to see nor tongues to discuss the matter. It is for such a reason that
this person mistrusts all things connected with the journey, except your
constancy, oh, my true and strong one."

" Such faithfulness would alone be sufficient to assure my safe return
if the matter were properly represented to the supreme Deities," said
Ling. " Let not the thin curtain of bitter water stand before your lustrous
eyes any longer, then. The events which have followed one another in the
past few days in a fashion that can only b£ likened to thunder following
lightning are indeed sufficient to distress one with so refined and swanlike
an organisation, but they are now assuredly at an end."

" It is a hope of daily recurrence to this person," replied Mian,
honourably endeavouring to restrain the emotion which openly exhibited
itself in her eyes ; " for what maiden- would not rather make successful
offerings to the Great Mother Kum-Fa than have the most imposing and
verbose Triumphal Arch erected to commemorate an empty and unsatisfy-
ing constancy ? "

% In this amiable manner the matter was arranged between Ling and
Mian, as they sat together in the magician's garden drinking peach-tea,
which the two attendants — not without discriminating and significant ex-
pressions between themselves — brought to them from time to time. Here
Ling made clear the whole manner of his life from his earliest memory to
the time when he fell in dignified combat, nor did Mian withhold anything,
explaining in particular such charms and spells of the magician as she had
knowledge of, and in this graceful manner materially assisting her lover in
the many disagreeable encounters and conflicts which he was shortly to
experience.

It was with even more objectionable feelings than before that Ling
now contemplated his journey to Canton, involving as it did the separation
from one who had become as the shadow of his existence, and by whose
side he had an undoubted claim to stand. Yet the necessity of the under-
taking was no less than before, and the full possession of all his natural
powers took away his only excuse for delaying in the matter. Without
any pleasurable anticipations, therefore, he consulted the Sacred Flat and
Round Sticks, and learning that the following day would be propitious for
the journey, he arranged to set out in accordance with the omen.

When the final moment arrived at which the invisible threads of con-

45

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

stantly passing emotions from one to the other must be broken, and when
Mian perceived that her lover's horse was restrained at the door by the two
attendants, who with unsuspected delicacy of feeling had taken this oppor-
tunity of withdrawing, the noble endurance which had hitherto upheld her
melted away, and she became involved in very melancholy and obscure
meditations until she observed that Ling also was quickly becoming affected
in a similar gloom,

" Alas ! " she exclaimed, " how unworthy a person I am thus to
impose upon my lord a greater burden than that which already weighs him
down ! Rather ought this one to dwell upon the happiness of that day,
when, after successfully evading or overthrowing the numerous bands of
assassins which infest the road from here to Canton, and after escaping or
recovering from the many deadly pestilences which invariably reduce that
city at this season of the year, he shall triumphantly return. Assuredly
there is a highly-polished surface united to every action in life, no matter
how funereal it may at first appear. Indeed, there are many incidents
compared with which death itself is welcome, and to this end Mian has
reserved a farewell gift." Speaking in this manner the devoted and mag-
nanimous maiden placed in Ling's hands the transparent vessel of liquid
which the magician had grasped when he fell. "This person," she con-
tinued, speaking with difficulty, " places her lover's welfare incomparably
before her own happiness, and should he ever find himself in a situation
which is unendurably oppressive, and from which death is the only escape
— such as inevitable tortures, the infliction of violent madness, or the sub-
jection by magic to the will of some designing woman — she begs him to
accept this means of freeing himself without regarding her anguish beyond
expressing a clearly defined last wish that the two persons in question may
be in the end happily reunited in another existence."

Assured by this last evidence of affection. Ling felt that he had no
longer any reason for internal heaviness ; his spirits were immeasurably
raised by the fragrant incense of Mian's great devotion, and under its
influence he was even able to breathe towards her a few words of similar
comfort as he left the spot and began his journey.

46

The significant behaviour of the one who is blind and the
other deaf.

CHAPTER IX

ON entering Canton, which he successfully accomplished without
any unpleasant adventure, the marked absence of any dignified
ostentation which had been accountable for many of Ling's
misfortunes in the past, impelled him again to reside in the
same insignificant apartment that he had occupied when he first visited
the city as an unknown and unimportant candidate. In consequence of
this, when Ling was communicating to any person the signs by which
messengers might find him, he was compelled to add, " The neighbourhood
in which this contemptible person resides is that officially known as
' the mean quarter favoured by the lower class of those who murder by
treachery,' " and for this reason he was not always treated with the regard
to which his attainments entitled him, or which he would have un-
questionably received had he been able to describe himself as of " the
partly-drained and uninfected area reserved to Mandarins and their friends."
It was with an ignoble feeling of mental distress that Ling exhibited
himself at the Chief Office of Warlike Deeds and Arrangements on the
following day ; for the many disadvantageous incidents of his past life had
repeated themselves before his eyes while he slept, and the not unhopeful
emotions which he had felt when in the inspiring presence of Mian were
now altogether absent. In spite of the fact that he reached the office during
the early gong strokes of the morning, it was not until the withdrawal of
light that he reached any person who was in a position to speak with him
on the matter, so numerous were the lesser ones through whose chambers
he had to pass in the process. At length he found himself in the presence
of an upper one who had the appearance of being acquainted with the
circumstances, and who received him with dignity, though not with any
embarrassing exhibition of respect or servility.

" ' The hero of the illustrious encounter beyond the walls of Si-chow,' "
exclaimed that official, reading the words from the tablet of introduction
which Ling had caused to-be carried in to him, and at the same time
examining the person in question closely. " Indeed, no such one is known
to those within this office, unless the words chance to point to the courteous
and unassuming Mandarin Li Keen, who, however, is at this moment
recovering his health at Pekin, as set forth in the amiable and impartial
report which we have lately received from him."

47

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

At these words Ling plainly understood that there was little hope of
the past events becoming profitable on his account.

" Did not the report to which allusion has been made bear reference
to one Ling, Commander of Archers, who thrice led on the fighting men,
and who was finally successful in causing the rebels to disperse towards the
mountains ? " he asked, in a voice which somewhat trembled.

" There is certainly reference to one of the name you mention," said
the other ; " but regarding the terms — perhaps this person would better
protect his own estimable time by displaying the report within your sight."

With these words the upper one struck a gong several times, and after
receiving from an inner chamber the parchment in question, he placed it
before Ling, at the same time directing a lesser one to interpose between it
and the one who read it a large sheet of transparent substance, so that
destruction might not come to it, no matter in what way its contents
affected the reader. Thereon Ling perceived the following facts, very
skilfully inscribed with the evident purpose of inducing persons to believe,
without question, that words so elegantly traced must of necessity be truth-
ful also :

" A Benevolent 'Example of the Intelligent Arrangement by which the most
Worthy Persons outlive those who are Incapable.

" The circumstances connected with the office of the valuable and
accomplished Mandarin of Warlike Deeds and Arrangements at Si-chow
have, in recent times, been of anything but a prepossessing order. Owing
to the very inadequate methods adopted by those who earn a livelihood by
conveying necessities from the more enlightened portions of the Empire
to that place, it so came about that for a period of five days the Yam6n
was entirely unsupplied with the fins of sharks or even with goats' eyes.
To add to the polished Mandarin's distress of mind the barbarous and slow-
witted rebels who infest those parts took this opportunity to destroy the
town and most of its inhabitants, the matter coming about as follows : —

" The feeble and commonplace person named Ling who commanded
the bowmen had but recently been elevated to that distinguished position
from a menial and degraded occupation (for which, indeed, his stunted
mtellect more aptly fitted him) ; and being in consequence very greatly
puffed out in self-gratification, he became an easy prey to the cunning of
the rebels, and allowed himself to be beguiled into a trap, paying for his
contemptible stupidity with his life. The town of Si-chow was then
attacked, and being in this manner left defenceless through the weakness
—or treachery— of the person Ling, who had contrived to encompass the
entire destruction of his unyielding company, it fell after a determined and
irreproachable resistance ; the Mandarin Li Keen being told, as, covered
with the blood of the foemen, he was dragged away from the thickest part
of the unequal conflict by his followers, that he was the last person to leave

48

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

the town. On his way to Pekin with news of this valiant defence, the Man-
darin was joined by the Chief of Bowmen, who had understood and avoided
the very obvious snare into which the stagnant-minded Commander had
led his followers, in spite of disinterested advice to the contrary. For this
intelligent perception, and for general nobiltty of conduct when in battle,
the versatile Chief of Bowmen is by this written paper strongly recommended
to the dignity of receiving the small metal Embellishment of Valour,

" It has been suggested to the Mandarin Li Keen that the bestowal of
the Crystal Button would only be a fit and graceful reward for his indefatig-
able efforts to uphold the dignity of the sublime Emperor ; but to all such
persons the Mandarin has sternly replied that such a proposal would more
fitly originate from the renowned and valuable Office of Warlike Deeds and
Arrangements, he well knowing that the wise and engaging persons who
conduct that indispensable and well-regulated department are gracefully
voracious in their efforts to reward merit, even when it is displayed, as in
the case in question, by one who from his position will inevitably soon be
urgently petitioning in a like manner on their behalf."

When Ling had finished reading this elegantly arranged but exceed-
ingly misleading parchment, he looked up with eyes from which he vainly
endeavoured to restrain the signs of undignified emotion, and said to the
upper one :

" It is a difficult employment for a person to refrain from unendurable
thoughts when his unassuming and really conscientious efforts are repre-
sented in a spirit of no satisfaction, yet in this matter the very expert Li
Keen appears to have gone beyond himself; the Commander Ling, who is
herein represented as being slain by the enemy, is, indeed, the person who
is standing before you, and all the other statements are in a like exactness."

" The short-sighted individual who for some hidden desire of his own
is endeavouring to present himself as the corrupt and degraded creature
Ling, has overlooked one important circumstance," said the upper one,
smiling in a very intolerable manner, at the same time causing his head to
move slightly from side to side in the fashion of one who rebukes with
assumed geniality ; and, turning over the written paper, he displayed upon
the under side the Imperial vermilion Sign. " Perhaps," he continued,
" the omniscient person will still continue in his remarks, even with the
evidence of the Emperor's unerring pencil to refute him."

At these words and the undoubted testimony of the red mark, which
plainly declared the whole of the written matter to be composed of truth,
no matter what might afterwards transpire. Ling understood that very little
prosperity remained with him.

" But the town of Si-chow," he suggested, after examining his mind ;
" if any person in authority visited the place, he would inevitably find it
standing and its inhabitants in agreeable health."

" The persistent person who is so assiduously occupying my intellectual

D . 49

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

moments with empty words seems to be unaccountably deficient in his
knowledge of the customs of refined society and of the meaning of the
Imperial Signet," said the other, with an entire absence of benevolent con-
sideration. " That Si-chow has fallen and that Ling is dead are two utterly
uncontroversial matters truthfully recorded. If a person visited Si-chow,
he might find it rebuilt or even inhabited by those from the neighbouring
villages or by evil spirits taking the forms of the ones who formerly lived
there ; as, in a like manner. Ling might be restored to existence by magic,
or his body might be found and possessed by an outcast demon who desired
to revisit the earth for a period. Such circumstances do not in any way dis-
turb the announcement that Si-chow has without question fallen, and that
Ling has officially ceased to live, of which events notifications have been
sent to all who are concerned in the matters."

As the upper one ceased speaking, four strokes sounded upon the gong,
and Ling immediately found himself carried into the street by the current
of both lesser and upper ones who poured forth at the signal.

The termination of this conversation left Ling in a more unenviable
state of dejection than any of the many preceding misfortunes had done, for
with enlarged inducements to possess himself of a competent appointment
he seemed to be even further removed from this attainment than he had
been at any time in his life. He might, indeed, present himself again for
the public examinations ; but in order to do even that it would be necessary
for him to wait almost a year, nor could he assure himself that his efforts
would again be likely to result in an equal success. Doubts also arose within
his mind of the course which he should follow in such a case ; whether to
adopt a new name, involving as it would certain humiliation and perhaps
disgrace if detection overtook his footsteps, or still to possess the title of
one who was in a measure dead, and hazard the likelihood of having any
prosperity which he might obtain reduced to nothing if the fact should
become public. »

As Ling reflected upon such details he found himself without intention
before the house of a wise person who had become very wealthy by advis-
ing others on all matters, but chiefly on those connected with strange
occurrences and such events as could not be settled definitely either one way
or the other until a remote period had been reached. Becoming assailed by
a curious desire to know what manner of evils particularly attached them-
selves to such as were officially dead but who nevertheless had an ordinary
existence. Ling placed himself before this person, and after arranging the
manner of reward, related to him so many of the circumstances as were
necessary to enable a full understanding to be reached, but at the same time
in no way betraying his own interest in the matter.

" Such inflictions are to no degree frequent," said the wise person
after he had consulted a polished sphere of the finest red jade for some
time ; " and this is in a measure to be regretted, as the hair of these persons
— provided they die a violent death, which is invariably the case — con-

Mian's opportune gift by which circumstances are turned
into a diverging course.

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

stitutes a certain protection against being struck by falling stars, or becom-
ing involved in unsuccessful law cases. The persons in question can be
recognised with certainty in the public ways by the unnatural pallor of
their faces and by the general repulsiveness of their appearance, but as they
soon take refuge in suicide, unless they have tjjje fortune to be removed pre-
viously by accident, it is an infrequent matter that one is gratified by the
sight. During their existence they are subject to many disorders from which
the generality of human beings are benevolently preserved ; they possess
no rights of any kind, and if by any chance they are detected in an act of
a seemingly depraved nature, they are liable to judgment at the hands of
the passers-by without any form whatever, and to punishment of a more
severe order than that administered to commonplace criminals. There are
many other disadvantages affecting such persons when they reach the Middle
Air, of which the chief "

" This person is immeasurably indebted for such a clear explanation
of the position," interrupted Ling, who had a feeling of not desiring to
penetrate further into the detail ; " but as he perceives a line of anxious
ones eagerly waiting at the door to obtain advice and consolation from so
expert and amiable a wizard, he will not make himself uncongenial any
longer with his very feeble topics of conversation."

By this time Ling plainly comprehended that he had been marked out
from the beginning — perhaps, for all the knowledge which he had to the
opposite effect, from a period in the life of a far-removed ancestor — to be
an object of marked derision and the victim of all manner of malevolent
demons in whatever actions he undertook. In this condition of understand-
ing his mind turned gratefully to the parting gift of Mian, whom he had
now no hope of possessing ; for the intolerable thought of uniting her to so
objectionable a being as himself would have been dismissed as utterly in-
elegant even had he been in a manner of living to provide for her adequately,
which itself seemed clearly impossible. Disregarding all similar emotions,
therefore, he walked without pausing to his abode, and stretching his body
upon the rushes, drank the liquid unhesitatingly, and prepared to pass
beyond with a tranquil mind entirely given up to thoughts and images of
Mian.

SI

CHAPTER X

UPON a certain occasion, the particulars of which have already
been recorded, Ling had judged himself to have passed into
the form of a spirit on beholding the ethereal form of Mian
bending over him. After swallowing the entire liquid, which
had cost the dead magician so much to distil and make perfect, it was
with a well-assured determination of never again awaking that he lost
the outward senses and floated in the Middle Air, so that when his eyes
next opened upon what seemed to be the bare walls of his own chamber,
his first thought was a natural conviction that the matter had been so
arranged either out of a charitable desire that he should not be overcome
by a too sudden transition to unparalleled splendour, or that such a recep-
tion was the outcome of some dignified jest on the part of certain lesser and
more cheerful spirits. After waiting in one position for several hours,
however, and receiving no summons or manifestation of a celestial nature,
he began to doubt the qualities of the liquid, and applying certain tests, he
soon ascertained that he was still in the lower world and unharmed. Never-
theless, this circumstance did not tend in any way to depress his mind, for,
doubtless owing to some hidden virtue in the fluid, he felt an enjoyable
emotion that he still lived ; all his attributes appeared to b^ purified, and
he experienced an inspired certainty of feeling that an illustrious and highly-
remunerative future lay before one who still had an ordinary existence after
being both ofBcially killed and self-poisoned.

In this intelligent disposition thoughts of Mian recurred to him with
unreproved persistence, and in order to convey to her an account of the
various matters which had engaged him since his arrival at the city, and a
well-considered declaration of the unchanged state of his own feelings
towards her, he composed and despatched with impetuous haste the follow-
ing delicate verses : —

" CONSTANCY

" About the walls and gates of Canton
Are many pleasing and entertaining maidens ;
Indeed, in the eyes of their friends and of the passers-by
Some of them are exceptionally adorable.

52

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

•

The person who is inscribing these lines, however,

Sees before him, as it were, an assemblage of deformed and unprepossessing hags,

Venerable in age and inconsiderable in appearance ;

For the dignified and majestic image of Mian is ever before him,

Making all others very inferior.

" Within the houses and streets of Canton
Hang many very bright lanterns.

The ordinary person who has occasion to walk by night
Professes to find them highly lustrous.
But there is one who thinks contrary facts,
And when he goes forth he carries two long curved poles
To prevent him from stumbling among the dark and hidden places ;
For he has gazed into the brilliant and pellucid orbs of Mian,
And all other lights are dull and practically opaque.

" In various parts of the literary quarter of Canton
Reside such as spend their time in inward contemplation.
In spite of their generally uninviting exteriors
Their reflections are often of a very profound order.
Yet the unpopular and persistently-abused Ling
Would unhesitatingly prefer his own thoughts to theirs.
For what makes this person's thoughts far more pleasing
Is that they are invariably connected with the virtuous and ornamental Mian."

Becoming very amiably disposed after this agreeable occupation, Ling
surveyed himself at the disc of polished metal, and observed with surprise
and shame the rough and uninviting condition of his person. He had,
indeed, although it was not until some time later that he became aware of
the circumstance, slept for five days without interruption, and it need not
therefore be a matter of wonder or of reproach to him that his smooth
surfaces had become covered with short hair. Reviling himself bitterly for
the appearance which he conceived he must have exhibited when he con-
ducted his business, and to which he now in part attributed his ill-success.
Ling went forth without delay, and quickly discovering one of those who
remove hair publicly for a very small sum, he placed himself in the chair,
and directed that his face, arms, and legs should be denuded after the
manner affected by the ones who make a practice of observing the most
recent customs.

" Did the illustrious individual who is now conferring distinction on
this really worn-out chair by occupying it express himself in favour of
having the face entirely denuded ? " demanded the one who conducted the
operation ; for these persons have become famous for their elegant and per-
sistent ability to discourse, and frequently assume ignorance in order that
they themselves may make reply, and not for the purpose of gaining know-
ledge. " Now, in the objectionable opinion of this unintelligent person, who
has a presumptuous habit of offering his very undesirable advice, a slight
covering on the upper lip, delicately arranged and somewhat fiercely pointed
at the extremities, would bestow an appearance of — how shall this illiterate
person explain himself ,?— dignity ? — matured reflection .? — doubtless the

S3

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

accomplished nobleman before me will understand what is intended with a
more knife-like accuracy than this person can describe it — but confer that
highly desirable effect upon the face of which at present it is entirely
destitute. . . . ' Entirely denuded ? ' Then without fail it shall certainly be
so, O incomparable personage. . . . Does the versatile mandarin now present
profess any concern as to the condition of the rice plants .? . . . Indeed,
the remark is an inspired one ; the subject is totally devoid of interest to
a person of intelligence. ... A remarkable and gravity-removing event
transpired within the notice of this unassuming person recently. A discrimi-
nating individual had purchased from him a portion of his justly renowned
Thrice-extracted Essence of Celestial Herb Oil — a preparation which in
this experienced person's opinion, indeed, would greatly relieve the un-
doubted afflictions from which the one before him is evidently suffering —
when after once anointing himself "

A lengthy period containing no words caused Ling, who had in the
meantime closed his eyes and lost Canton and all else in delicate thoughts
of Mian, to look up. That which met his attention on doing so filled him
with an intelligent wonder, for the person before him held in his hand what
had the appearance of a tuft of bright yellow hair, which shone in the
light of the sun with a most engaging splendour, but which he nevertheless
regarded with a most undignified expression of confusion and awe.

" Illustrious demon," he cried at length, kowtowing very respectfully,
" have the extreme amiableness to be of a benevolent disposition, and do not
take an unworthy and entirely unremunerative revenge upon this very un-
important person for failing to detect and honour you from the beginning."

" Such words indicate nothing beyond an excess of hemp spirit,"
answered Ling, with signs of displeasure. " To gain my explicit esteem,
make me smooth without delay, and do not exhibit before me the lock of
hair which, from its colour and appearance, has evidently adorned the head of
one of those maidens whose duty it is to quench the thirst o£ travellers in
the long narrow rooms of this city."

" Majestic and anonymous spirit," said the other, with extreme rever-
ence, and an absence of the appearance of one who has gazed into many
vessels, " if such be your plainly-expressed desire, this superficial person
will at once proceed to make smooth your peach-like skin, and with a care-
fulness inspired by the certainty that the most unimportant wound would
give forth liquid fire, in which he would undoubtedly perish. Nevertheless,
he desires to make it evident that this hair is from the head of no maiden,
being, indeed, the uneven termination of your own sacred pigtail, which
this excessively self-confident slave took the inexcusable liberty of removing,
and which changed in this manner within his hand in order to administer
a fit reproof for his intolerable presumption."

Impressed by the mien and unquestionable earnestness of the remover
of hair. Ling took the matter which had occasioned these various emotions
in his hand and examined it. His amazement was still greater when he

54

The toilet of Mian.

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

perceived that — in spite of the fact that it presented every appearance of
having been cut from his own person — none of the qualities of hair remained
in it ; it was hard and wire-like, possessing, indeed, both the nature and
the appearance of a metal.

As he gazed fixedly and with astonishment, there came back into the
remembrance of Ling certain obscure and Rttle-understood facts connected
with the limitless wealth possessed by the Yellow Emperor — of which the
great gold life-like image in the Temple of Internal Symmetry at Pekin
alone bears witness now — and of his lost secret. Many very forcible pro-
phecies and omens in his own earlier life, of which the rendering and
accomplishment had hitherto seemed to be dark and incomplete, passed
before him, and various matters which Mian had related to him con-
cerning the habits and speech of the magician took definite form within
his mind. Deeply impressed by the exact manner in which all these
circumstances fitted together, one into another. Ling rewarded the person
before him greatly beyond his expectation, and hurried without any delay
to his own chamber.

55

T4 =

ri

CHAPTER XI

iOR many hours Ling remained in his room, examining in his
mind all passages, either in his own life or in the lives of others,
which might by any chance have influence on the event before
him. In this thorough way he became assured that the com-
petition and its results, his journey to Si-chow with the encounter in the
cypress wood, the flight of the incapable and treacherous Mandarin, and
the battle at Ki, were all, down to the matter of the smallest detail,
parts of a symmetrical and complete scheme, tending to his present
condition, in which he had become involved. Cheered and upheld by
this proof of the fact that very able deities were at work on his behalf, he
turned his intellect from the entrancing subject to a contemplation of the
manner in which his condition would enable him to frustrate the un-
inventive villainies of the obstinate person Li Keen, and to provide a
suitable house and mode of living to which he would be justified in
introducing Mian, after adequate marriage ceremonies had been observed
between them. In this endeavour he was less successful than he had
imagined would be the case, for when he had first fully understood that
his body was of such a substance that nothing was wanting to transmute
it into fine gold but the absence of the living spirit, he had naturally, and
without deeply examining the detail, assumed that so much ^old might
be considered as in his possession. Now, however, a very definite thought
arose within him that his own wishes and interests would have been better
secured had the benevolent spirits who undertook the matter placed the
secret within his knowledge in such a way as to enable him to administer
the fluid to some very heavy and inexpensive animal, so that the issue which
seemed inevitable before the enjoyment of the riches could be entered upon
should not have touched his own comfort so closely. To a person of Ling's
refined imagination it could not fail to be a subject of internal reproach
that while he would become the most precious dead body in the world, his
value in life might not be very honourably placed even by the most compli-
mentary one who should require his services. Then came the thought,
which, however degraded, he found himself unable to put quite beyond
him, that if in the meantime he were able to gain a sufficiency for Mian
and himself, even her pure and delicate love might not be able to bear so
offensive a test as that of seeing him grow old and remain intolerably

S6

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

■

healthy — perhaps with advancing years actually becoming lighter day by
day, and thereby lessening in value before her eyes — when the natural
infirmities of age and the presence of an ever-increasing posterity would
make even a moderate amount of taels of inestimable value.

No doubt remained in Ling's miijid that the process of frequently
making smooth his surfaces would yield an amount of gold enough to suffice
for his own needs, but a brief consideration of the matter convinced him
that this source would be inadequate to maintain an entire household even
if he continually denuded himself to an almost ignominious extent. As he
fully weighed these varying chances the certainty became more clear to
him with every thought that for the virtuous enjoyment of Mian's society
one great sacrifice was required of him. This act, it seemed to be intimated,
would without delay provide for an affluent and lengthy future, and at the
same time would influence all the spirits — even those who had been hitherto
evilly-disposed towards him — in such a manner that his enemies would be
removed from his path by a process which would expose them to public
ridicule, and he would be assured in founding an illustrious and enduring
line. To accomplish this successfully necessitated the loss of at least the
greater part of one entire member, and for some time the disadvantages of
going through an existence with only a single leg or arm seemed more than
a sufficient price to pay even for the definite advantages which would be
made over to him in return. This unworthy thought, however, could not
long withstand the memory of Mian's steadfast and high-minded affection,
and the certainty of her enlightened gladness at his return even in the im-
perfect condition which he anticipated. Nor was there absent from his mind
a dimly-understood hope that the matter did not finally rest with him, but
that everything which he might be inspired to do was in reality only a
portion of the complete and arranged system into which he had been drawn,
and in which his part had been assigned to him from the beginning without
power for him to deviate, no matter how much to the contrary the thing
should appear.

As no advantage would be gained by making any delay. Ling at once
sought the most favourable means of putting his resolution into practice,
and after many skilful and insidious inquiries he learnt of an accomplished
person who made a' consistent habit of cutting off limbs which had become
troublesome to their possessors either through accident or disease. Further-
more, he was said to be of a sincere and charitable disposition, and many
persons declared that on no occasion had he been known to make use of the
helpless condition of those who visited him in order to extort money from
them.

Coming to the ill-considered conclusion that he would be able to con-
ceal within his own breast the true reason for the operation, Ling placed
himself before the person in question, and exhibited the matter to him so
that it would appear as though his desires were promoted by the presence
of a small but persistent sprite which had taken its abode within his left

57

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

thigh, and there resisted every effort of his most experienced wise persons
to induce it to come forth again. Satisfied with this explanation of the
necessity of the deed, the one who undertook the matter proceeded, with
Ling's assistance, to sharpen his cutting instruments and to heat the harden-
ing irons ; but no sooner had he made a shallow mark to indicate the lines
which his knife should take, than his subtle observation at once showed him
that the facts had been represented to him in a wrong sense, and that his
visitor, indeed, was composed of no common substance. Being of a gentle
and forbearing disposition, he did not manifest any indication of rage at
the discovery, but amiably and unassumingly pointed out that such a course
was not respectful towards himself, and that, moreover. Ling might incur
certain well-defined and highly undesirable maladies as a punishment for
the deception.

Overcome with remorse at deceiving so courteous and noble-minded
a person. Ling fully explained the circumstance to him, not even concealing
from him certain facts which related to the actions of remote ancestors, but
which, nevertheless, appeared to have influenced the succession of events.
When he had made an end of the narrative, the other said :

" Behold now, it is truly remarked that every mandarin has three
hands and every soldier a like number of feet, yet it is a saying which is
rather to be regarded as manifesting the deep wisdom and discrimination of
the speaker than as an actual fact which can be taken advantage of when
one is so minded — least of all by so valiant a Commander as the one before
me, who has clearly proved that in time of battle he has exactly reversed
the position."

"The loss would undoubtedly be of considerable inconvenience occasion-
ally," admitted Ling, " yet none the less the sage remark of Huai Mei-shan,
' When actually in the embrace of a voracious and powerful wild animal,
the desirability of leaving a limb is not a matter to be subjected to lengthy
consideration,' is undoubtedly a valuable guide for general conduct. This
person has endured many misfortunes and suffered many injustices ; he has
known the wolf-gnawings of great hopes, which have withered and daily
grown less when the difficulties of maintaining an honourable and illustrious
career have unfolded themselves within his sight. Before him still lie the
attractions of a moderate competency to be shared with the one whose
absence would make even the Upper Region unendurable, and after having
this entrancing future once shattered by the tiger-like cupidity of a depraved
and incapable mandarin, he is determined to welcome even the sacrifice
which you condemn rather than let the opportunity vanish through indeci-
sion."

" It is not an unworthy or abandoned decision," said the one whose aid
Ling had invoked, "nor a matter from which this person would refrain
taking part, were there no other and more agreeable means by which the
same results may be attained. A circumstance has occurred within this
superficial person's mind, however : A brother of the one who is addressing

58

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

•

you is by profession one of those who purchase large undertakings for which
they have ^ot the money to pay, and who thereupon by various expedients
gain the ear of the thrifty, enticing them by fair offers in return to entrust
their savings for the purpose of paying off the debt. These persons are
ever on the watch for transactions by w||^ch they inevitably prosper without
incurring any obligation, and doubtless my brother will be able to gather
together a community which would in some way endow you with a just
share of the value of your highly-remunerative body without submitting you
to the insufferable annoyance of losing a great part of it prematurely."

Without clearly understandir^g how so inviting an arrangement could
be effected, the manner of speaking was exceedingly alluring to Ling's
mind, perplexed as he had become through weighing and considering the
various attitudes of the entire matter. To receive a certain and sufficient
sum of money without his person being in any way mutilated would be a
satisfactory, but as far as he had been able to observe an unapproachable,
solution of the difficulty. In the mind of the amiable person with whom
he was conversing, however, the accomplishment did not appear to be
surrounded by unnatural obstacles, so that Ling was content to leave the
entire design in his hands, after stating that he would again present him-
self on a certain occasion when it was asserted that the brother in question
would be present.

So internally lightened did Ling feel after this inspiring conversation,
and so confident of a speedy success had the obliging person's words made
him become, that for the first time since his return to Canton he was able
to take an intellectual interest in the pleasures of the city. Becoming aware
that the celebrated play entitled " The Precious Lamp of Spotted Butterfly
Temple " was in process of being shown at the Tea Garden of Rainbow
Lights and Voices, he purchased an entrance, and after passing several
hours in this conscientious enjoyment, returned to his chamber, and passed
a night untroubled by any manifestations of an unpleasant nature.

59

CHAPTER XII

CHANG-CH'UN, the brother of the one to whom Ling had
applied in his determination, was confidently stated to be one
of the richest persons in Canton. So great was the number
of enterprises in which he had possessions, that he himself
was unable to keep an account of them, and it was asserted that upon
occasions he had run through the streets, crying aloud that such an
undertaking had been the subject of most inferior and uninviting dreams
and omens (a custom observed by those who wish a venture ill), whereas
upon returning and consulting his written parchments, it became plain
to him that he had indulged in a very objectionable exhibition, as he
himself was the person most interested in the success of the matter. Far
from discouraging him, however, such incidents tended to his advantage,
as he could consistently point to them in proof of his unquestionable
commercial honourableness, and in this way many persons of all classes,
not only in Canton, or in the Province, but all over the Empire, would
unhesitatingly entrust money to be placed in undertakings which he
had purchased and was willing to describe as " of much good." A
certain class of printed leaves — those in which Chang-ch'un did not insert
purchased mentions of his forthcoming ventures or verses recording his
virtues (in return for buying many examples of the printed leaf containing
them) — took frequent occasion of reminding persons that Chang-ch'un
owed the beginning of his prosperity to finding a written parchment con-
nected with a mandarin of exalted rank and a low caste attendant at the
Ti-i tea-house among the paper heaps, which it was at that time his
occupation to assort into various departments according to their quality
and commercial value. Such printed leaves freely and unhesitatingly
predicted that the day on which he would publicly lose face was in-
comparably nearer than that on which the Imperial army would receive
its behind pay, and in a quaint and gravity-removing manner advised him
to protect himself against an obscure but inevitable poverty by learning
the accomplishment of chair-carrying — an occupation for which his talents
and achievements fitted him in a high degree, they remarked.

In spite of these evilly-intentioned remarks, and of illustrations
representing him as being bowstrung for treacherous killing, being seized
in the action of secretly conveying money from passers-by to himself and

60

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

•
other similar annoying references to his private life, Chang-ch'un did not
fail to. prosper, and his undertakings succeeded to such an extent that
without inquiry into the detail many persons were content to describe as
" gold-lined " anything to which he affixed his sign, and to hazard their
savings for staking upon the venture^ In all other departments of life
Chang was equally successful ; his chief wife was the daughter of one
who stood high in the Emperor's favour ; his repast table was never
unsupplied with sea-snails, rats' tongues, or delicacies of an equally
expensive nature, and it was confidently maintained that there was no
official in Canton, not even putting aside the Taotai, who dare neglect to
fondle Chang's hand ififhe publicly off^ered it to him for that purpose.

It was at the most illustrious point of his existence — at the time,
indeed, when after purchasing without money the renowned and pro-
ficient charm-water Ho-Ko for a million taels, he had sold it again for
ten — that Chang was informed by his brother of the circumstances con-
nected with Ling. After becoming specially assured that the matter was
indeed such as it was represented to be, Chang at once discerned that the
venture was of too certain and profitable a nature to be put before those
who entrusted their money to him in ordinary and doubtful cases. He
accordingly called together certain persons whom he was desirous of
obliging, and informing them privately and apart from business terms
that the opportunity was one of exceptional attractiveness, he placed the
facts before them. After displaying a number of diagrams bearing upon
the matter, he proposed that they should form an enterprise to be called
" The Ling (After Death) Without Much Risk Assembly." The manner
of conducting this undertaking he explained to be as follows : The body
of Ling, whenever the spirit left it, should become as theirs, to be used
for profit. For this benefit they would pay Ling fifty thousand taels when
the understanding was definitely arrived at, five thousand taels each year
until the matter ended, and when that period arrived another fifty
thousand taels to persons depending upon him during his life. Having
stated the figure business, Chang-ch'un put down his written papers, and
causing his face to assume the look of irrepressible but dignified satisfac-
tion which it was his custom to wear on most occasions, and especially
when he had what appeared at first sight to be evil news to communicate
to public assemblages of those who had entrusted money to his ventures,
he proceeded to disclose the advantages of such a system. At the extreme,
he said, the amount which they would be required to pay would be two
hundred and fifty thousands taels ; but this was in reality a very mislead-
ing view of the circumstance, as he would endeavour to show them. For
one detail, he had alloted to Ling thirty years of existence, which was the
extreme amount according to the calculations of those skilled in such
prophecies ; but, as they were all undoubtedly aware, persons of very
expert intellects were known to enjoy a much shorter period of life than
the gross and ordinary, and as Ling was clearly one of the former, by the

6i

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

fact of his contriving so ingenious a method of enriching himself, they
might with reasonable foresight rely upon his departing when half the
period had been attained ; in that way seventy-five thousand taels would
be restored to them, for every year represented a saving of five thousand.
Another agreeable contemplation was that of the last sum, for by such a
time they would have arrived at the most pleasurable part of the enterprise :
a million taels' worth of pure gold would be displayed before them, and the
question of the final fifty thousand could be disposed of by cutting off an
arm or half a leg. Whether they adopted that course, or decided to in-
crease their fortunes by exposing so exceptional and symmetrical a wonder
to the public gaze in all the principal cities of the Empire, was a circum-
stance which would have to be examined within their minds when the
time approached. In such a way the detail of purchase stood revealed as
only fifty thousand taels in reality, a sum so despicably insignificant that
he had internal pains at mentioning it to so wealthy a group of mandarins,
and he had not yet made clear to them that each year they would receive
gold to the amount of almost a thousand taels. This would be the result of
Ling making smooth his surfaces, and it would enable them to know that
the person in question actually existed, and to keep the circumstances
before their intellects.

When Chang-ch'un had made the various facts clear to this extent,
those who were assembled expressed their feelings as favourably turned
towards the project, provided the tests to which Ling was to be put
should prove encouraging, and a secure and intelligent understanding of
things to be done and not to be done could be arrived at between them.
To this end Ling was brought into the chamber, and fixing his thoughts
steadfastly upon Mian, he permitted portions to be cut from various parts
of his body without betraying any signs of ignoble agitation. No sooner
had the pieces been separated and the virtue of Ling's existence passed
from them than they changed colour and hardened, nor could, the most
delicate and searching trials to which they were exposed by a skilful
worker in metals, who was obtained for the purpose, disclose any particular,
however minute, in which they differed from the finest gold. The hair,
the nails, and the teeth were similarly affected, and even Ling's blood
dried into a fine gold powder. This detail of the trial being successfully
completed. Ling subjected himself to intricate questionings on all matters
connected with his religion and manner of conducting himself, both in
public and privately, the history and behaviour of his ancestors, the various
omens and remarkable sayings which had reference to his life and destiny,
and the intentions which he then possessed regarding his future move-
ments and habit of living. All the wise sayings and written and printed
leaves which made any allusion to the existence and possibility of dis-
covery of the wonderful gold fluid were closely examined, and found to
be in agreement, whereupon those present made no further delay in
admitting that the facts were indeed as they had been described, and

62

The superfluous Wang.

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

indulged in a dignified stroking of each other's faces as an expression of
pleasure and in proof of their satisfaction at taking part in so entrancing
and remunerative an affair. At Chang's command many rare and expensive
wines were then brought in, and partaken of without restraint by all
persons, the repast being lightened bv numerous well-considered and
gravity-removing jests having reference to Ling and the unusual com-
position of his person. So amiably were the hours occupied that it was
past the time of no-light when Chang rose and read at full length the
statement of things to be done and things not to be done, which was to
be sealed by Ling for his part and the other persons who were present
for theirs. It so happened, however, that at that period Ling's mind was
filled with brilliant and versatile thoughts and images of Mian, and
many-hued visions of the manner in which they would spend the entranc-
ing future which was now before them, and in this way it chanced that
he did not give any portion of his intellect to the reading, mistaking it,
indeed, for a delicate and very ably-composed set ot verses which Chang-
ch'un was reciting as a formal blessing on parting. Nor was it until he
was desired to affix his sign that Ling discovered his mistake, and being of
too respectful and unobtrusive a disposition to require the matter to be
repeated then, he carried out the obligation without in any particular
understanding the written words to which he was agreeing.

As Ling walked through the streets to his chamber after leaving the
house and company of Chang-ch'un, holding firmly among his garments
the thin printed papers to the amount of fifty thousand taelg which he
had received, and repeatedly speaking to himself in terms of general and
specific encouragement at the fortunate events of the past few days, he
became aware that a person of mean and rapacious appearance, whom he
had some memory of having observed within the residence he had but just
left, was continually by his side. Not at first doubting that the circum-
stance resulted from a benevolent desire on the part of Chang-ch'un that
he should be protected in his passage through the city. Ling affected not
to observe the incident ; but upon reaching his own door the person in
question persistently endeavoured to pass in also. Forming a fresh judgment
about the matter. Ling, who was very powerfully constructed, and whose
natural instincts were enhanced in every degree by the potent fluid of
which he had lately partaken, repeatedly threw him across the street
until he became weary of the diversion. At length, however, the thought
arose that one who patiently submitted to continually striking the opposite
houses with his head must have something of importance to communicate,
whereupon he courteously invited him to enter the apartment and unweigh

his mind.

" The facts of the case appear to have been somewhat inadequately
represented," said the stranger, bowing obsequiously, "for this unorna-
mental person was assured by the benignant Chang-ch'un that the one
whose shadow he was to become was of a mild and forbearing nature."

63

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

" Such words are as the conversation of birds to me," replied Ling,
not conjecturing how the matter had fallen about. " This person has just
left the presence of the elegant and successful Chang-ch'un, and no word
that he spoke gave indication of such a follower or such a service."

" Then it is indeed certain that the various transactions have not been
fully understood," exclaimed the other, " for the exact communication to
this unseemly one was, ' The valuable and enlightened Ling has heard and
agreed to the different things to be done and not to be done, one phrase of
which arranges for your continual presence, so that he will anticipate your
attentions.'"

At these words the truth became as daylight before Ling's eyes, and
he perceived that the written paper to which he had affixed his sign con-
tained the detail of such an office as that of the person before him. When
too late, more than ever did he regret that he had not formed some pretext
for causing the document to be read a second time, as in view of his
immediate intentions such an arrangement as the one to which he had
agreed had every appearance of becoming of an irksome and perplexing
nature. Desiring to know the length of the attendant's commands, Ling
asked him for a clear statement of his duties, feigning that he had missed
that portion of the reading through a momentary attack of the giddy
sickness. To this request the stranger, who explained that his name was
Wang, instantly replied that his written and spoken orders were : never
to permit more than an arm's length of space to separate them ; to
prevent, by whatever force was necessary for the purpose, all attempts
at evading the things to be done and not to be done, and to ignore as of
no interest all other circumstances. It seemed to Ling, in consequence,
that little seclusion would be enjoyed unless an arrangement could be
effiscted between Wang and himself; so to this end, after noticing the
evident poverty and covetousness of the person in question, he made him
an honourable offer of frequent rewards, provided a greater (Jistance was
allowed to come between them as soon as Si-chow was reached. On his
side. Ling undertook not to break through the wording of the things to
be done and not to be done, and to notify to Wang any movements upon
which he meditated. In this reputable manner the obstacle was ingeniously
removed, and the intelligent nature of the device was clearly proved by
the fact that not only Ling but Wang also had in future a much greater
liberty of action than would have been possible if it had been necessary to
observe the short-sighted and evidently hastily-thought-of condition which
Chang-ch'un had endeavoured to impose.

64

CHAPTER XIII

IN spite of his natural desire to return to Mian as quickly as possible,
Ling judged it expedient to give several days to the occupation of
purchasing apparel of the richest kinds, weapons and armour in large
quantities, jewels and ornaments of worked metals and other objects to
indicate his changed position. Nor did he neglect actions of a pious and
charitable nature, for almost his first care was to arrange with the chief
ones at the Temple of Benevolent Intentions that each year, on the day
corresponding to that on which he drank the gold fluid, a sumptuous
and well-constructed coffin should be presented to the most deserving
poor and aged person within that quarter of the city in which he had
resided. When these preparations were completed. Ling set out with an
extensive train of attendants ; but riding on before, accompanied only by
Wang, he quickly reached Si-chow without adventure.

The meeting between Ling and Mian was affecting to such an extent
that the blind and the deaf attendants wept openly without reproach,
notwithstanding the fact that neither could become possessed of more
than a half of the occurrence. Eagerly the two reunited ones examined
each other's features to discover whether the separation had brought
about any change in the beloved and well-remembered lines. Ling dis-
covered upon Mian the shadow of an anxious care at his absence, while
the disappointments and trials which Ling had experienced in Canton had
left traces which were plainly visible to Mian's penetrating gaze. In such
an entrancing occupation the time was to them without hours until a
feeling of hunger recalled them to lesser matters, when a variety of very
select foods and liquids were placed before them without delay. After
this elegant repast had been partaken of, Mian, supporting herself upon
Ling's shoulder, made a request that he would disclose to her all the
matters which had come under his observation both within the city and
during his journey to and from that place. Upon this encouragement,
Ling proceeded to unfold his mind, not withholding anything which
appeared to be of interest, no matter how slight. When he had reached
Canton without any perilous adventure, Mian breathed more freely ; as
he recorded the interview at the Office of Warlike Deeds and Arrange-
ments, she trembled at the insidious malignity of the evil person Li Keen.
The conversation with the wise reader of the future concerning the various

E 65

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

states of such as be officially dead almost threw her into the rigid sickness,
from which, however, the wonderful circumstance of the discovered
properties of the gold fluid quickly recalled her. But to Ling's great
astonishment no sooner had he made plain the exceptional advantages
which he had derived from the circumstances, and the nature of the
undertaking at which he had arrived with Chang-ch'un, than she became
a prey to the most intolerable and unrestrained anguish.

" Oh, my devoted but excessively ill-advised lover," she exclaimed
wildly, and in tones which clearly indicated that she was inspired by
every variety of affectionate emotion, "has the unendurable position in
which you and all your household will be placed by the degrading
commercial schemes and instincts of the mercenary-souled person Chang-
ch'un occupied no place in your generally well-regulated intellect ?
Inevitably will those who drink our almond tea, in order to have an
opportunity of judging the value of the appointments of the house, pass
the jesting remark that while the Lings assuredly have ' a dead person's
bones in the secret chamber,' at the present they will not have one in the
family graveyard by reason of the death of Ling himself. Better to lose a
thousand limbs during life than the entire person after death ; nor would
your adoring Mian hesitate to clasp proudly to her organ of affection the
veriest trunk that had parted with all its attributesi in a noble and
sacrificing endeavour to preserve at least some dignified proportions
to embellish the Ancestral Temple and to receive the worship of
posterity."

" Alas ! " replied Ling, with extravagant humiliation, " it is indeed
true ; and this person is degraded beyond the common lot of those who
break images and commit thefts from sacred places. The side of the
transaction which is at present engaging our attention never occurred to
this superficial individual until now."

"Wise and incomparable one," said Mian, in no dqgree able to
restrain the fountains of bitter water which clouded her delicate and
expressive eyes, " in spite of this person's biting and ungracious words do
not, she makes a formal petition, doubt the deathless strength of her
affection. Cheerfully, in order to avert the matter in question, or even
to save her lover the anguish of unavailing and soul-eating remorse, would
she consign herself to a badly-constructed and slow-consuming fire or
expose her body to various undignified tortures. Happy are those even to
whom is left a little ash to be placed in a precious urn and diligently
guarded, for it, in any event, truly represents all that is left of the once
living person, whereas after an honourable and spotless existence my
illustrious but unthinking lord will be blended with a variety of baser
substances and passed from hand to hand, his immaculate organs serving
to reward murderers for their deeds, and so tempt the weak and vicious
to all manner of unmentionable crimes."

So overcome was Ling by the distressing nature of the oversight he

66

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

had permitted that he could find no words with which to comfort Mian,
who, after some moments, continued :

"There are even worse visions of degradation which occur to this
person. By chance, that which was once the noble-minded Ling may be
disposed of, not to the Imperial Treasury for converting into pieces of
exchange, but to some undiscriminating worker in metals who will
fashion out of his beautiful and symmetrical stomach, an elegant food-
dish, so that from the ultimate developments of the circumstance may
arise the fact that his own descendants, instead of worshipping him, use
his internal organs for this doubtful if not absolutely unclean purpose,
and thereby suffer numerous well-merited afflictions, to the end that the
finally-despised Ling and this discredited person, instead of founding a
vigorous and prolific generation, become the parents of a line of feeble-
minded and physically-depressed lepers."

" Oh, my peacock-eyed one ! " exclaimed Ling, in immeasurable
distress, " so proficient an exhibition of virtuous grief crushes this mis-
guided person completely to the ground. Rather would he uncom-
plainingly lose his pigtail than "

" Such a course," said a discordant voice, as the unpresentable person
Wang stepped forth from behind a hanging curtain, where, indeed, he
had stood concealed during the entire conversation, "is especially for-
bidden by the twenty-third detail of the things to be done and not to be
done."

" What new adversity is this ? " cried Mian, pressing to Ling with a
still closer embrace. " Having disposed of your incomparable body after
death, surely an adequate amount of liberty and seclusion remains to us
during life."

"Nevertheless," interposed the dog-like Wang, "the refined person
in question must not attempt to lose or to dispose of his striking and
invaluable pigtail ; for by such an action he would be breaking through
his spoken and written word whereby he undertook to be ruled by the
things to be done and not to be done ; and he would also be robbing the
ingenious-minded Chang-ch'un."

" Alas ! " lamented the unhappy Ling, " that which appeared to be
the end of all this person's troubles is obviously simply the commence-
ment of a new and more extensive variety. Understand, O conscientious
but exceedingly inopportune Wang, that the words which passed from
this person's mouth did not indicate a fixed determination, but merely
served to show the unfeigned depth of his emotion. Be content that he
has no intention of evading the definite principles of the things to be
done and not to be done, and in the meantime honour this commonplace
establishment by retiring to the hot and ill-ventilated chamber, and there
partaking of a suitable repast which shall be prepared without delay."

When Wang had departed, which he did with somewhat unseemly
haste. Ling made an end of recording his narrative, which Mian's grief

67

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

had interrupted. In this way he explained to her the reason of Wang's
presence, and assured her that by reason of the arrangement he had made
with that person, his near existence would not be so unsupportable to
them as might at first appear to be the case.

While they were still conversing together, and endeavouring to divert
their minds from the objectionable facts which had recently come within
their notice, an attendant entered and disclosed that the train of servants
and merchandise which Ling had preceded on the journey was arriving.
At this fresh example of her lover's consistent thought for her, Mian
almost forgot her recent agitation, and eagerly lending herself to the
entrancing occupation of unfolding and displaying the various objects,
her brow finally lost the last trace of sadness. Greatly beyond the
imaginings of anticipation were the expensive articles with which Ling
proudly surrounded her ; and in examining and learning the cost of the
set jewels and worked metals, the ornamental garments for both persons,
the wood and paper appointments for the house — even incenses, perfumes,
spices and rare viands had not been forgotten — the day was quickly and
profitably spent.

When the hour of sunset arrived. Ling, having learned that certain
preparations which he had commanded were fully carried out, took Mian
by the hand and led her into the chief apartment of the house, where
were assembled all the followers and attendants, even down to the illiterate
and superfluous Wang. In the centre of the room upon a table of the
finest ebony stood a vessel of burning incense, some dishes of the most
highly-esteemed fruit, and an abundance of old and very sweet wine.
Before these emblems Ling and Mian placed themselves in an attitude of
deep humiliation, and formally expressed their gratitude to the Chief
Deity for having called them into existence, to the cultivated earth for
supplying them with the means of sustaining life, to the Emperor for
providing the numerous safeguards by which their persons w^re protected
at all times, and to their parents for educating them. This adequate
ceremony being completed. Ling explicitly desired all those present to
observe the fact that the two persons in question werej by that act and
from that time, made as one being, and the bond between them incapable
of severance.

When the ruling night-lantern came out from among the clouds.
Ling and Mian became possessed of a great desire to go forth with pressed
hands and look again on the forest paths and glades in which they had
spent many hours of exceptional happiness before Ling's journey to
Canton. Leaving the attendants to continue the feasting and drum-beating
in a completely unrestrained manner, they therefore passed out unper-
ceived, and wandering among the trees, presently stood on the banks of
the Heng-Kiang.

" Oh, my beloved ! " exclaimed Mian, gazing at the brilliant and
unruffled water, " greatly would this person esteem a short river journey,

68

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

such as we often enjoyed together in the days when you were re-
covering."

Ling, to whom the expressed desires of Mian were as the word of the
Emperor, instantly prepared the small and ornamental junk which was
fastened near for this purpose, and was about to step in, when a pre-
sumptuous and highly objectionable hand restrained him.

" Behold," remarked a voice which Ling had some difficulty in
ascribing to any known person^ so greatly had it changed from its
usual tone, " behold how the immature and altogether too-inferior Ling
observes his spoken and written assertions ! "

At this low-conditioned speech, Ling drew his well-tempered sword
without further thought, in spite of the restraining arms of Mian, but at
the sight of the utterly incapable person Wang, who stood near smiling
meaninglessly and waving his arms with a continuous and backward
motion, he again replaced it.

" Such remarks can be left to fall unheeded from the lips of one who
bears every indication of being steeped in rice spirit," he said with un-
provoked dignity.

" It will be the plain duty of this expert and uncorruptible person to
furnish the unnecessary but, nevertheless, very severe and self-opinionated
Chang-ch'un with a written account of how the traitorous and deceptive
Ling has endeavoured to break through the thirty-fourth vessel of the
liquids to be consumed and not to be consumed," continued Wang with
increased deliberation and an entire absence of attention to Ling's action
and speech, " and how by this refined person's unfailing civility and
resourceful strategy he has been frustrated."

" Perchance," said Ling, after examining his thoughts for a short
space, and reflecting that the list of things to be done and not to be done
was to him as a blank leaf, "there may even be some small portion of
that which is accurate in his statement. In what manner," he continued,
addressing the really unendurable person, who was by this time preparing
to pass the night in the cool swamp by the river's edge, " does this one
endanger any detail of the written and sealed parchment by such an
action ? "

" Inasmuch," replied Wang, pausing in the process of removing his
outer garments, " as the seventy-ninth — the intricate name given to it
escapes this person's tongue at the moment — but the ninety-seventh —
experLingknowswhamean — provides that any person, with or without,
attempting or not avoiding to travel by sea, lake, or river, or to place him-
self in such a position as he may reasonably and intelligently be drowned in
salt water, fresh water, or — or honourable rice spirit, shall be guilty of,
and suffer — complete loss of memory." With these words the immoderate
and contemptible person sank down in a very profound slumber.

" Alas ! " said Ling, turning to Mian, who stood near, unable to retire
even had she desired, by reason of the extreme agitation into which the

69

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

incident had thrown her delicate mind and body, " how intensely aggravat-
ing a circumstance that we are compelled to entertain so dissolute a one by
reason of this person's preoccupation when the matter was read. Neverthe-
less, it is not unlikely that the detail he spoke of was such as he insisted, to
the extent of making it a thing not to be done to journey in any manner
by water. It shall be an early endeavour of this person to get these restrain-
ing details equitably amended ; but in the meantime we will retrace our
footsteps through the wood, and the enraptured Ling will make a well-
thought-out attempt to lighten the passage by a recital of his recently-
composed verses on the subject of' Exile from the Loved One ; or, Farewell
and Return.' "

70

CHAPTER XIV

MY beloved lord ! " said Mian sadly, on a morning after
many days had passed since the return of Ling, " have
you not every possession for which the heart of a wise
person searches ? Yet the dark mark is scarcely ever absent
from your symmetrical brow. If she who stands before you, and is hence-
forth an integral part of your organisation, has failed you in any particular,
no matter how unimportant, explain the matter to her, and the amend-
ment will be a speedy and a joyful task."

It was indeed true that Ling's mind was troubled, but the fault did
not lie with Mian, as the person in question was fully aware, for before her
eyes as before those of Ling the unevadable compact which had been
entered into with Chang-ch'uri was ever present, insidiously planting
bitterness within even the most select and accomplished delights. Nor with
increasing time did the obstinate and intrusive person Wang become more
dignified in his behaviour ; on the contrary, he freely made use of his
position to indulge in every variety of abandonment, and almost each day
he prevented, by reason of his knowledge of the things to be done and not
to be done, some refined and permissible entertainment upon which Ling
and Mian had determined. Ling had despatched many communications
upon this subject to Chang-ch'un, praying also that some expert way out of
the annoyance of the lesser and more unimportant things not to be done
should be arrived at, but the time when he might reasonably expect an
answer to these written papers had not yet arrived.

It was about this period that intelligence was brought to Ling from
the villages on the road to Pekin, how Li Keen, having secretly ascertained
that his Yamen was standing and his goods uninjured, had determined to
return, and was indeed at that hour within a hundred li of Si-chow. Further-
more, he had repeatedly been understood to pronounce clearly that he con-
sidered Ling to be the head and beginning of all his inconvenience, and to
declare that the first act of justice which he should accomplish on his return
would be to submit the person in question to the most unbearable tortures,
and then cause him to lose his head publicly as an outrager of the settled
state of things and an enemy of those who loved tranquillity. Not doubting
that Li Keen would endeavour to gain an advantage by treachery if the
chance presented itself. Ling determined to go forth to meet him, and

71

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

without delay settle the entire disturbance in one well-chosen and fatally-
destructive encounter. To this end, rather than disturb the placid mind of
Mian, to whom the thought of the engagement would be weighed with
many disquieting fears, he gave out that he was going upon an expedition
to surprise and capture certain fish of a very delicate flavour, and, attended
by only two persons, he set forth in the early part of the day.

Some hours later, owing to an ill-considered remark on the part of the
deaf attendant, to whom the matter had been explained in an imperfect
light, Mian became possessed of the true facts of the case, and immediately
all the pleasure of existence went from her. She despaired of ever again
beholding Ling in an ordinary state, and mournfully reproached herself for
the bitter words which had risen to her lips when the circumstance of his
condition and the arrangement with Chang-ch'un first became known to
her. After spending an interval in a polished lament at the manner in
which things were inevitably tending, the thought occurred to Mian
whether by any means in her power she could influence the course and
settled method of affairs. In this situation the memory of the person Wang,
and the fact that on several occasions he had made himself objectionable
when Ling had proposed to place himself in such a position that he incurred
some very remote chance of death by drowning or by fire, recurred to her.
Subduing the natural and pure-minded repulsion which she invariably ex-
perienced at the mere thought of so debased an individual, she sought for
him, and discovering him in the act of constructing cardboard figures of
men and animals, which it was his custom to dispose skilfully in little-
frequented paths for the purpose of enjoying the sudden terror of those who
passed by, she quickly put the matter before him, urging him, by some
means, to prevent the encounter, which might assuredly cost the life of
the one whom he had so often previously obstructed from incurring the
slightest risk.

" By no means," exclaimed Wang, when he at length understood the
full meaning of the project ; " it would be a most unpresentable action for
this commonplace person to interfere in so honourable an undertaking. Had
the priceless body of the intrepid Ling been in any danger of disappearing,
as, for example, by drowning or being consumed in fire, the nature of the
circumstance would have been different. As the matter exists, however,
there is every appearance that the far-seeing Chang-ch'un will soon reap
the deserved reward of his somewhat speculative enterprise, and to that end
this person will immediately procure a wooden barrier and the services of
four robust carriers, and proceed to the scene of the conflict."

Deprived of even this hope of preventing the encounter, Mian betook
herself in extreme dejection to the secret room of the magician, which had
been unopened since the day when the two attendants had searched for
substances to apply to their master, and there she diligently examined every
object in the remote chance of discovering something which might prove
of value in averting the matter in question.

72

The outrageoUi attitude of the dishonourable Li Keen.

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

Not anticipating that the true reason of his journey would become
known to Mian, Ling continued on his way without haste, and passing
through Si-chow before the sun had risen, entered upon the great road to
Pekin. At a convenient distance from the town he came to a favourable
piece of ground where he decided to avpiit the arrival of Li Keen, spending
the time profitably in polishing his already brilliant sword, and making
observations upon the nature of the spot and the condition of the surround-
ing omens, on which the success of his expedition would largely depend.

As the sun reached the highest point in the open sky the sound of an
approaching company could be plainly heard ; but at the moment when
the chair of the Mandarin appeared within the sight of those who waited,
the great luminary, upon which all portents depend directly or indirectly'
changed to the colour of new-drawn blood and began to sink towards the
earth. Without any misgivings, therefore, Ling disposed his two attendants
in the woods with instructions to step forth and aid him if he should be
attacked by overwhelming numbers, while he himself remained in the way.
As the chair approached, the Mandarin observed a person standing alone,
and thinking that it was one who, hearing of his return, had come out of
the town to honour him, he commanded the bearers to pause. Thereupon,
stepping up to the opening. Ling struck the deceptive and incapable Li Keen
on the cheek, at the same time crying in a full voice, " Come forth, O
traitorous and two-stomached Mandarin ! for this person is very desirous of
assisting you in the fulfilment of your boastful words. Here is a most irre-
proachable sword which will serve excellently to cut off this person's un-
dignified head ; here is a waist-cord which can be tightened round his
breast, thereby producing excruciating pains over the entire body."

At the knowledge of who the one before him was, and when he heard
the words which unhesitatingly announced Ling's fixed purpose, Li Keen
first urged the carriers to fall upon Ling and slay him, and then, perceiving
that such a course was exceedingly distasteful to their natural tendencies,
to take up the chair and save him by flight. But Ling in the meantime
engaged their attention, and fully explained to them the treacherous and
unworthy conduct of Li Keen, showing them how his death would be a just
retribution for his ill-spent life, and promising them each a considerable
reward in addition to their arranged payment when the matter in question
had been accomplished. Becoming convinced of the justice of Ling's cause,
they turned upon Li Keen, insisting that he should at once attempt to
carry out the ill-judged threats against Ling, of which they were consistent
witnesses, and announcing that, if he failed to do so, they would certainly
bear him themselves to a not far distant well of stagnant water, and there
gain the approbation of the good spirits by freeing the land of so unnatural
a monster.

Seeing only a dishonourable death on either side, Li Keen drew his
sword, and made use of every artifice of which he had knowledge in order
to disarm Ling or to take him at a disadvantage. In this he was unsuccess-

73

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

ful, for Ling, who was by nature a very expert sword-user, struck him
repeatedly, until he at length fell in an expiring condition, remarking with
his last words that he had indeed been a narrow-minded and extortionate
person during his life, and that his death was an enlightened act of celestial
accuracy.

Directing Wang and his four hired persons, who had in the meantime
arrived, to give the body of the Mandarin an honourable burial in the deep
of the wood, Ling rewarded and dismissed the chair-bearers, and without
delay proceeded to Si-chow, where he charitably distributed the goods and
possessions of Li Keen among the poor of the town. Having in this able
and conscientious manner completely proved the misleading nature of the
disgraceful statements which the Mandarin had spread abroad concerning
him. Ling turned his footsteps towards Mian, whose entrancing joy at his
safe return was judged by both persons to be a sufficient reward for the
mental distress with which their separation had been accompanied.

74

CHAPTER XV

AFTER the departure of Ling from Canton, the commercial
affairs of Chang-ch'un began, from a secret and undetectable
cause, to assume an ill-regulated condition. No venture which
he undertook maintained a profitable attitude, so that many
persons who in former times had been content to display the printed
papers setting forth his name and virtues in an easily-seen position in
their receiving-rooms, now placed themselves daily before his house in
order to accuse him of using their taels in ways which they themselves had
not sufficiently understood, and for the purpose of warning passers-by
against his inducements. It was in vain that Chang proposed new under-
takings, each of an infallibly more prosperous nature than those before ; the
persons who had hitherto supported him were all entrusting their money to
one named Pung Soo, who required millions where Chang had been content
with thousands, and who persistently insisted on greeting the sacred Emperor
as an equal.

In this unenviable state Chang's mind continually returned to thoughts
of Ling, whose lifeless body would so opportunely serve to dispel the em-
barrassing perplexities of existence which were settling thickly about him.
Urged forward by a variety of circumstances which placed him in an
entirely different spirit from the honourable bearing which he had formerly
maintained, he now closely examined all the papers connected with the
matter, to discover whether he might not be able to effect his purpose with
an outward exhibition of law forms. While engaged in this degrading
occupation, a detail came to his notice which caused him to become very
amiably disposed and confident of success. Proceeding with the matter, he
caused a well-supported report to be spread about that Ling was suffering
from a wasting sickness,, which without in any measure shortening his life,
would cause him to return to the size and weight of a newly-born child,
and being by these means enabled to secure the entire matter of " The
Ling (After Death) Without Much Risk Assembly " at a very small outlay
he did so, and then, calling together a company of those who hire them-
selves out for purposes of violence, journeyed to Si-chow.

Ling and Mian were seated together at a table in the great room,
examining a vessel of some clear liquid, when Chang-ch'un entered with
his armed ones, in direct opposition to the general laws of ordinary conduct

IS

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

and the rulings of hospitality. At the sight, which plainly indicated a
threatened display of violence, Ling seized his renowned sword, which was
never far distant from him, and prepared to carry out his spoken vow, that
any person overstepping a certain mark on the floor should assuredly fall.

" Put away your undoubtedly competent weapon, O Ling," said
Chang, who was desirous that the matter should be arranged if possible
without any loss to himself, " for such a course can be honourably adopted
when it is taken into consideration that we are as twenty to one, and have,
moreover, the appearance of being inspired by law forms."

"There are certain matters of allowed justice which over-rule all other
law forms," replied Ling, taking a surer hold of his sword-grasp. " Explain,
for your part, O obviously double-dealing Chang-ch'un, from whom this
person only recently parted on terms of equality and courtesy, why you
come not with an agreeable face and a peaceful following, but with a coun-
tenance which indicates both violence and terror, and accompanied by many
whom this person recognises as the most outcast and degraded from the
narrow and evil-smelling ways of Canton ? "

" In spite of your blustering words," said Chang, with some attempt
at an exhibition of dignity, " this person is endowed by every right, and
comes only for the obtaining, by the help of this expert and proficient
gathering, should such a length become necessary, of his just claims. Under-
stand that in the time since the venture was arranged this person has become
possessed of all the property of ' The Ling (After Death) Without Much
Risk Assembly,' and thereby he is competent to act fully in the matter. It
has now come within his attention that the one Ling to whom the parti-
culars refer is officially dead, and as the written and sealed document clearly
undertook that the person's body was to be delivered up for whatever use
the Assembly decided whenever death should possess it, this person has
now come for the honourable carrying out of the undertaking."

At these words the true nature of the hidden contrivance into which
he had fallen descended upon Ling like a heavy and unavoidable thunder-
bolt. Nevertheless, being by nature and by reason of his late exploits fearless
of death, except for the sake of the loved one by his side, he betrayed no
sign of discreditable emotion at the discovery.

" In such a case," he replied, with an appearance of entirely disregard-
ing the danger of the position, " the complete parchment must of necessity
be overthrown ; for if this person is now officially dead, he was equally so
at the time of sealing, and arrangements entered into by dead persons have
no actual existence."

" That is a matter which has never been efficiently decided," admitted
Chang-ch'un, with no appearance of being thrown into a state of confusion
at the suggestion, " and doubtless the case in question can by various means
be brought in the end before the Court of Final Settlement at Pekin, where
it may indeed be judged in the manner you assert. But as such a process
must infallibly consume the wealth of a province and the years of an ordinary

76

The leave-taking from those who have followed (as it may
be expressed) the involvements of Ling and Mian.

fW?i^~

own

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

lifetime, and as it is this person's unmoved intention to carry out his

view of the undertaking without delay, such speculations are not matters
of profound interest."

Upon this Chang gave certain instructions to his followers, who there-
upon prepared to advance. Perceiving that the last detail of the affair had
been arrived at, Ling threw back his hanging garment, and was on the
point of rushing forward to meet them, when Mian, who had maintained
a possessed and reliant attitude throughout, pushed towards him the vessel
of pure and sparkling liquid with which they had been engaged when so
presumptuously broken in upon, at the same time speaking to him certain
words in an outside language. A new and Heaven-sent confidence immedi-
ately took possession of Ling, and striking his sword against the wall with
such irresistible proficiency that the entire chamber trembled and the feeble-
minded assassins shrank back in unrestrained terror, he leapt upon the table,
grasping in one hand the open vessel.

" Behold the end, O most uninventive and slow-witted Chang-ch'un ! "
he cried in a dreadful and awe-compelling voice. " As a reward of your
faithless and traitorous behaviour, learn how such avaricious-minded incom-
petence turns and fastens itself upon the vitals of those who beget it. In
spite of many things which were not of a graceful nature towards him, this
person has unassumingly maintained his part of the undertaking, and would
have followed such a course conscientiously to the last. As it is, when he
has made an end of speaking, the body which you are already covetously
estimating in taels will in no way be distinguishable from that of the meanest
and most ordinary maker of commercial ventures in Canton. For, behold !
the fluid which he holds in his hand, and which it is his fixed intention to
drain to the last drop, is in truth nothing but a secret and exceedingly
powerful counteractor against the virtues of the gold drug ; and though but
a single particle passed his lips, and the swords of your brilliant and versa-
tile murderers met the next moment in his breast, the body which fell at
your feet would be meet for worms rather than for the melting-pot."

It was indeed such a substance as Ling represented it to be, Mian
having discovered it during her very systematic examination of the dead
magician's inner room. Its composition and distillation had involved that
self-opinionated person in many years of arduous toil, for with a somewhat
unintelligent lack of foresight he had obstinately determined to perfect the
antidote before he turned his attention to the drug itself. Had the matter
been more ingeniously arranged, he would undoubtedly have enjoyed an
earlier triumph and an affluent and respected old age.

At Ling's earnest words and prepared attitude an instant conviction of
the truth of his assertions took possession of Chang. Therefore, seeing
nothing but immediate and unevadable ruin at the next step, he called out
in a loud and imploring voice that he should desist, and no harm would
come upon him. To this Ling consented, first insisting that the followers
should be dismissed without delay, and Chang alone remain to have conver-

77

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

sation on the matter. By this just act the lower parts of Canton were greatly
purified, for the persons in question being driven forth into the woods,
mostly perished by encounters with wild animals, or at the hands of the
enraged villagers, to whom Ling had by this time become greatly endeared.
When the usual state had been restored. Ling made clear to Chang
the altered nature of the conditions to which he would alone agree. " It is a
noble-minded and magnanimous proposal on your part, and one to which
this misguided person had no claim," admitted Chang, as he affixed his seal
to the written undertaking and committed the former parchment to be con-
sumed by fire. By this arrangement it was agreed that Ling should receive
only one-half of the yearly payment which had formerly been promised, and
that no sum of taels should become due to those depending upon him at
his death. In return for these valuable allowances, there were to exist no
details of things to be done and not to be done, Ling merely giving an
honourable promise to observe the matter in a just spirit, while — most
esteemed of all — only a portion of his body was to pass to Chang
when the end arrived, the upper part remaining to embellish the family
altar and receive the veneration of posterity.

As the great sky-lantern rose above the trees and the time of no-noise
fell upon the woods, a flower-laden pleasure-junk moved away from its
restraining cords, and, without any sense of motion, gently bore Ling and
Mian between the sweet-smelling banks of the Heng-Kiang. Presently
Mian drew from beneath her flowing garment an instrument of stringed
wood, and touching it with a quick but delicate stroke, like the flight and
pausing of a butterfly, told in well-balanced words a refined narrative of
two illustrious and noble-looking persons, and how, after many disagreeable
evils and unendurable separations, they entered upon a destined state of
earthly prosperity and celestial favour. When she made an end of the
verses. Ling turned the junk's head by one well-directed stroke, of the paddle,
and prepared by using similar means to return to the place of mooring.

" Indeed," he remarked, ceasing for a moment to continue the skilful
occupation, " the words which you have just spoken might, without injus-
tice, be applied to the two persons who are now conversing together. For
after suffering misfortunes and wrongs beyond an appropriate portion, they
have now reached that period of existence when a tranquil and contempla-
tive future is assured to them. In this manner is the sage and matured
utterance of the inspired philosopher Nien-tsu again proved : that the life
of every person is largely composed of two varieties of circumstances which
together build up his existence — the Good and the Evil."

THE END OF THE STORY OF LING

78

The outrpassingfrom the narrative of the amiable Kai Lung.

CHAPTER XVI

WHEN Kai Lung, the story-teller, made an end of speaking,
he was immediately greeted with a variety of delicate and
pleasing remarks, all persons who had witnessed the matter,
down even to the lowest type of Miaotze, who by reason
of their obscure circumstances had been unable to understand the meaning
of a word that had been spoken, maintaining that Kai Lung's accomplish-
ment of continuing for upwards of three hours without a pause had afforded
an entertainment of a very high and refined order. While these polished
sayings were being composed, together with many others of a similar
nature, Lin Yi suddenly leapt to his feet with a variety of highly
objectionable remarks concerning the ancestors of all those who were
present, and declaring that the story of Ling was merely a well-considered
stratagem to cause them to forget the expedition which they had determined
upon, for by that time it should have been completely carried out. It was
undoubtedly a fact that the hour spoken of for the undertaking had long
passed, Lin Yi having completely overlooked the speed of time in his bene-
volent anxiety that the polite and valorous Ling should in the end attain to
a high and remunerative destiny.

In spite of Kai Lung's consistent denials of any treachery, he could
not but be aware that the incident tended greatly to his disadvantage in the
eyes of those whom he had a fixed desire to conciliate, nor did his well-
intentioned offer that he would without hesitation repeat the display for a
like number of hours effect his amiable purpose. How the complication
would finally have been determined without interruption is a matter merely
of imagination, for at that moment an outpost, who had been engaged in
guarding the secrecy of the expedition, threw himself into the enclosure in
a torn and breathless condition, having run through the forest many li in a
winding direction for the explicit purpose of warning Lin Yi that his inten-
tions had become known, and that he and his followers would undoubtedly
be surprised and overcome if they left the camp.

At this intimation of the eminent service which Kai Lung had rendered
them, the nature of their faces towards him at once changed completely,
those who only a moment before had been demanding his death particularly
hailing him as their inspired and unobtrusive protector, and in all prob-
ability, indeed, a virtuous and benignant spirit in disguise.

79

THE TRANSMUTATION OF LING

Bending under the weight of offerings which Lin Yi and his followers
pressed upon him, together with many clearly set out desires for his future
prosperity, and assured of their unalterable protection on all future occasions,
Kai Lung again turned his face towards the lanterns of Knei Yang. Far
down the side of the mountain they followed his footsteps, now by a rolling
stone, now by a snapping branch of yellow pine. Once again they heard his
voice, cheerfully repeating to himself : " Among the highest virtues of a

pure existence " But beyond that point the gentle forest breath bore

him away.

80

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